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| Nationality | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 November 1980 Wellington, New South Wales |
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| Height | 187cm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 83kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Benjamin James Austin OAM (born 7 November 1980 in Wellington, New South Wales) is an Elite Athlete with a Disability (EAD) swimmer for Australia. His classification is S8 (above elbow amputee).
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Austin was born on 7 November 1980[1] in Wellington, New South Wales.[2] At a few weeks old, he lost his left arm above the elbow when doctors amputated it as a result of complications related to his birth. Outside of swimming, he plays rugby league, rugby union, water polo[1] and basketball.[2] Sport teams he barracks for include the Penrith Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys.[2] One of his heroes is Mohammed Ali.[1] He is a university student, working on a degree that will allow him to become an English as a Second Language teacher.[1] He is also studying kinesiology.[2] He currently resides in Sydney, Australia.[2] He is 187cm tall and weighs 83kg.[2] He has four sisters.[3]
Austin started swimming at five years of age,[3] and start swimming competitively in 1996. He represented Australia for the first time in 1999.[1] While he is primarily known for being a Paralympic swimmer, he also competed in abled bodied swimming.[1] He swims for Warringah Aquatic and is coached by Ben Davies.[2] In 2008, he was coached by Graeme Carroll.[4] He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder, the first disability sport competitor to become one.[3]
He has competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics, the 2004 Summer Paralympics and the 2008 Summer Paralympics.[1] At the 2000 Games, he won a silver medal in the 200m individual medley, and a paid of bronze medals in the 100m fly, and 4x100m medley relay events.[2] He set two world records at the 2004 Paralympic Games. They were in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly events,[1] events where he also took home gold medals.[2] He won silver medals in the 100m butterfly and 200m individual medleys.[2] He took home bronze in the 4x100m free relay.[2] At the 2008 Games, he won a silver medal in the 4x100m free relay.[2] He finished in fifth place in the 100m butterfly event, and fourth in the 100m freestyle event.[2]
In 2002, he competed at the IPC World Championships held in Argentina.[2] He competed in the 2006 IPC World Championships held in Durban, South Africa.[2]
At the 2008 Australian Championships, he set a personal best time in the 100m Freestyle event with a time of 0:59.08.[2]
Austin set two world records at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.[1]
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Austin set six world records at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.[1]
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