Jonathan Harris (sailor)

Jonathan Bruce Harris OAM (born 31 October 1955) is an Australian blue-water sailor who began his sailing career when he was about ten. He won a gold medal in the Mixed Three Person Sonar the 2016 Rio Paralympics.[1][2]

Jonathan Harris
2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Harris
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Born (1955-10-31) 31 October 1955
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportSailing
Event(s)Mixed Three Person Sonar]]
ClubCronulla Sailing Club
Medal record
Sailing
Representing  Australia
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place2016 RioMixed Three Person Sonar
IFDS World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2013 KinsaleMixed Three Person Sonar
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Halifax Mixed Three Person Sonar
Silver medal – second place 2015 Melbourne Mixed Three Person Sonar
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Medemblik Mixed Three Person Sonar

Personal

Harris was born on 31 October 1955. He lost his hand as a result of a chemical explosion when he was sixteen. As of 2012, he lives in Oatley, New South Wales, and owns an IT company. He also skis and cycles.[3]

Sailing
Jonathan Harris, Stephen Churm & Colin Harrison sailing at the 2012 London Paralympics
Colin Harrison, Russell Boaden, Jonathan Harris sailing at the 2016 Rio Paralympics

Harris is a sailor and has been a member of the Cronulla Sailing Club since he was very young.[3] He is coached by the Perth-based Grant Alderson.[3] As of 2012, he had a sailing scholarship with the New South Wales Institute of Sport.[4]

Harris started sailing when he was about ten years old.[3][5] He has twice (1983, 1985) competed in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, a distance of just over 1,170 km.[3] He first represented Australia in 2002 at the World Championships in the Netherlands,[3] in the Sonar class.[6] He competed with Colin Harrison and Stephen Churm for the first time at the 2012 International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) World Championships in the Sonar event, where the team finished fourth.[3][7][8] On the last day of competition, he and his crew dealt with a wind speed of 10-15 knots.[9]

At the 2012 Dutch-hosted World Cup, Harris and his teammates finished third over all in the Sonar Paralympic class.[10] They had been at fourth following the first day of competition.[11] His team at the 2012 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth, England, finished fifth overall following the fourth day of competition.[12] He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in sailing.[3] It was his first Paralympic selection.[13] He did not medal.

At the 2013 IFDS World Championships in Kinsale, Ireland, he teamed with Russell Boaden and Colin Harrison to win the bronze medal in the Sonar Class.[14] In October 2013, the trio were named Yachting Australia's Sailors of the Year with a Disability.[15] At the 2014 IFDS World Championships in Halifax, Canada, Harris teamed with Harrison and Boaden to win the bronze medal in the Sonar Class.[16] In November 2014, Harris shared the Yachting Australia Sailor of the Year with a Disability award with Daniel Fitzgibbon, Liesl Tesch, Colin Harrison, Russell Boaden and Matthew Bugg. The Australian team of six sailors beat Great Britain by one point at the IFDS World Championship.[17]

At the 2015 IFDS Championships in Australia, he teamed with Boaden and Harrison to win the silver medal behind the Great Britain crew. Their score was 37.0 to Great Britain's 36.0.[18] Harris, Boaden and Harrison won the bronze medal in the Mixed Three Person Sonar class at the 2016 World Championships held in Medemblik, Netherlands.[19] They went on to win the gold medal in the Mixed Three Person Sonar class at 2016 Summer Paralympics. During the event they had three first placings and four second placings.[2] He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2017.[20]

References
  1. "Australia's Paralympic Sailors set sail for their last Games". Australian Paralympic Committee News. 15 July 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  2. "3-Person Keelboat (Sonar) - Standings". Rio Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  3. "Jonathan Harris". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  4. "Stephen Churm". NSWIS. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  5. "Making Waves". Yachting Western Australia. 26 May 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  6. "Jonathan Harris". NSWIS. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  7. "Australians move up at IFDS World Championships — Australian Sailing News". YACHTe.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  8. "Duo in Paralympic team". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  9. "IFDS World Championships — Australian sailors tackle tough conditions". Sail-World.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  10. "Aussie sailors win three World Cup medals". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 27 May 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  11. "ISAF Sailing World Cup kicks off in Holland | APC Corporate". Australian Paralympic Committee. 23 May 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  12. Heydon, Craig (4 June 2012). "Australian sailors win four gold medals on Olympic waters". Yachting Victoria. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  13. "Australian Paralympic Sailing Team sets sail". Ransa.yachting.org.au. 18 April 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  14. "Bronze medal win for Australia at IFDS World Championships". Yachting Australia News. 31 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  15. "Sonar crew win Yachting Australia award". Australian Paralympic Committee News. 21 October 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  16. "Results". IFDS Worlds 2014 website. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  17. "Stellar night for Australian sailing at Yachting Australia Awards 2014". Yachting Australia News. 1 November 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  18. "Excellence to the very end". 2015 Para World Sailing Championships at RYCV Melbourne, Australia website. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  19. "2016 Para World Sailing Championship". World Sailing website. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  20. "OAM Final Media Notes (F-L)" (PDF). Governor General of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
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