Ashleigh McConnell

Ashleigh Kate McConnell, OAM (born 26 March 1996) is a limb deficient Paralympic swimmer of Australia. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where she won gold medals in freestyle relay events.[1][2]

Ashleigh McConnell
Personal information
Full nameAshleigh McConnell
NationalityAustralian
Born (1996-03-26) 26 March 1996
Melbourne, Victoria
Sport
SportSwimming
ClassificationsS9, SB8, SM9
ClubMelbourne Vicentre
CoachKenrick Monk
Medal record
Women's paralympic swimming
Representing  Australia
Paralympics
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4x100 m freestyle 34 pts
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle 34 pts
IPC Swimming World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Glasgow4x100 m freestyle
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast100m backstroke S9

Personal

McConnell was born on 26 March 1996 in Melbourne, Victoria.[3] She was born without her left forearm and left hand.[4] She attended Sunbury College.[5] In 2015, she was studying Business at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.[4]

Career

McConnell started swimming at the age of four.[4] She is classified as a S9 swimmer.[4] She narrowly missed out on making the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.[5] At the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, she won a gold medal in the Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points.

At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, McConnell won the gold medal in the Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points and competed in three additional freestyle events.[5]

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, McConnell won the bronze medal in the Women's 100m Backstroke S9.[6]

At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, McConnell, together with her team of Emily Beecroft, Ellie Cole, and Isabella Vincent won a silver medal in the Women's 4x100m Freestyle 34 pts with a time of 4:26.82, two seconds behind the winners, Italy.[7] She also qualified for the final of the Women's 100 m freestyle S9 where she finished sixth.[8]

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham, England, she finished 4th in the Women's 100 m freestyle S9.[9] [10]

McConnell's motto is "You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the further you get".[3][4]

Recognition

In 2016, with Para swimmer Monique Murphy, McConnell was named RMIT's Female Athlete of the Year.[11]

McConnell was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2017.[12]

References
  1. "Swimming Australia Paralympic Squad Announcement". Swimming Australia News, 13 April 2016. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  2. "Paralympics Australia Names Powerful Para-Swimming Team For Tokyo". Paralympics Australia. 16 June 2021. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  3. "Ashleigh McConnell". Victorian Institute of Sport. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  4. "Ashleigh McConnell". International Paralympic Comnmittee Swimming Athlete Biography. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  5. Kennedy, Barry (21 April 2014). "Sunbury College swimming sensation aims for 2016 Rio Paralympic Games". Sunbury Leader. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  6. "Ashleigh McConnell". Commonwealth Games Australia. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  7. "Australian Paralympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  8. "Ashleigh McConnell". Tokyo Paralympics Official Results. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  9. "Cole, Patterson And Levy Amongst Stars Of The Pool Ready To Splash And Dash In Birmingham". Commonwealth Games Australia. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  10. "2022 Commonwealth Games Results". Commonwealth Games Australia. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  11. "Paralympians share top honours at RMIT Sport Awards". RMIT News. 30 November 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  12. "OAM Final Media Notes (M-R)" (PDF). Governor General of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
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