Jack Swift

For the minor league pitcher, see Kelly Jack Swift.
Jack Swift

2012 Australian Paralympic Team portrait of Swift
Personal information
Nationality Australia
Born 8 August 1985
Sport
Country Australia
Sport

Paralympic athletics

Paratriathlon

Jack Swift (born 8 August 1985) is an Australian athletics competitor and paratriathlete. He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in athletics in the 400m and 4x100m events.

Personal

Swift was born on 8 August 1985,[1] and is from the Melbourne[2] suburb of Ivanhoe[3] in Victoria.[4][5] He attended Marcellin College,[3] and played football while at school.[3]

In 2006,[3] Swift lost the lower part of his right leg when he was twenty-one years old after an accident while at work,[2][3][6] "when a 14-tonne excavator fell and crushed his right leg".[3] Prior to his accident, he was a plumber’s labourer.[3] He was a finalist for the 2011 Victorian Cleo Bachelor of the Year.[5] In February 2011, he was on the cover of Australian Men's Health Magazine.[2] He pursued a degree in exercise-science[2][3] from Deakin University.[3] As of 2012, he works as a personal trainer.[2]

Athletics

Swift competes in the T44 athletics classification.[1] He became involved with athletics as a form of personal mental health improvement following his accident,[2][3] and had not competed in athletics prior to his accident.[3]

In 2011, Swift was training as much as twenty-five hours a week.[3] In the 2011 Victorian Athletic League, he participated in the Athletes With a Disability 120m event, the only event open to athletes with disability during the season.[7] In 2011, he was an Australian national ambulant 100m and 200m finalist.[7] At the 2011 Australian Athletics Championships, he finished third in the 200m wheelchair race final.[5] He assisted in unveiling the 2012 Australian Paralympic athletics uniform.[8][9] He did this at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia Spring/Summer 2012/13 on day two at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal on 1 May 2012.[9] He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in athletics[1][2][4] in the 400m and 4 x 100m events.[6] He did not medal at the 2012 Games.

Paratriathlon

In April 2013, Swift raced his first sprint distance triathlon.[10][11] Based on his performance in this race, he was selected in Australia's 2013 ITU Triathlon World Championships paratriathlon team.[12] Like several other selected Australian athletes, he did not race. Swift competed in the 2014 Australian and Oceania Paratriathlon Championships, placing 2nd in the TRI-5 (moderate leg impairment) classification.[13] He also placed second TRI-5 in the ITU World Paratriathlon event in Elwood.[14] At the 2014 ITU World Triathlon Series Final in Edmonton, Canada, he finished eleventh in the Men's PT4.[15] In January 2015, Swift won the Oceania Paratriathlon Championships PT4 event at Penrith, New South Wales.[16]

Swift now aims to qualify for paratriathlon at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.[17]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Jack Swift | APC Corporate". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Jack Swift headed to London Paralympics". Men's Health Magazine. 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 Bernecich, Adrian. "Young Ivanhoe athlete in the running for Games glory — Athletics — Sport — Heidelberg Leader". Heidelberg-leader.whereilive.com.au. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chris Dutton (2012-06-06). "Canberra's Paralympic athletes aim for Games glory". Australian Capital Territory: Canberra Times. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Patmore closes Nationals with victory | APC Corporate". Australian Paralympic Committee. 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Paralympic athletes embrace role model status". Yahoo!7. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Ballarat Gift cements place — Local News — Sport — General". The Courier. 2011-05-02. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  8. ↑ AAP: Tracey Nearmy (2012-05-02). "Australian Paralympic team uniforms launched — ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Paralympians Jack Swift And Kelly Cartwright Showcase The... News Photo | Getty Images AU | 143609772". Getty Images. 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  10. ↑ "2013-12 Gatorade Triathlon Series Race 6 St Kilda - Jack Swift".
  11. ↑ Video on YouTube
  12. ↑ "2013 ITU Female and Male Age-Group World Championship Paratriathlon Team" (PDF). Triathlon Australia.
  13. ↑ "Australian Paratriathlon Championships - results". Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  14. ↑ "2014 Elwood ITU World Paratriathlon Event : Paratriathlon Male TRI-5 : Results". Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "Results". 2014 ITU Grand Final Edmonton website. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  16. ↑ "brave rain swept Neapean to Conquer Oceania Championshipsurl=http://www.triathlon.org.au/About/Latest_News/PARATRIATHLETES_BRAVE_RAIN_SWEPT_NEPEAN_TO_CONQUER_OCEANIA_CHAMPIONSHIPS.htm". Triathlon Australia News, 13 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "About Jack".

External links