Matt Levy

Matthew John Levy, OAM (born 11 January 1987) is a retired Australian Paralympic swimmer. At five Paralympic Games from 2004 to 2020, he has won three gold, one silver and six bronze medals.

This article is about the Australian Paralympic swimmer. For other uses, see Matthew Levy (disambiguation).

Matt Levy
2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait
Personal information
Full nameMatthew John Levy
NationalityAustralian
Born (1987-01-11) 11 January 1987
Sydney, New South Wales
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, butterfly, medley
ClassificationsS7
ClubNorth Sydney Swimming Club
CoachSteve Badger
Medal record
Men's paralympic swimming
Representing  Australia
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 4×100 metre medley
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle 34 pts
Silver medal – second place 2012 London 100 m freestyle S7
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London 100 m breaststroke SB7
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London 200 m medley SM7
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London 4×100 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m medley SM7
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 100 m breaststroke SB6
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2010 Eindhoven 4 × 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2013 Montreal 200 m medley SM7
Gold medal – first place 2013 Montreal 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place2022 MadeiraMixed 4 × 100 m medley relay 34 pts
Silver medal – second place 2010 Eindhoven 100 m freestyle S7
Silver medal – second place 2010 Eindhoven 100 m breaststroke SB7
Silver medal – second place 2013 Montreal 100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2015 Glasgow100 m Freestyle S7
Silver medal – second place 2015 Glasgow200 m medley SM7
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Eindhoven 50 m butterfly S7
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Eindhoven 200 m medley SM7
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Glasgow50 m freestyle S7
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Glasgow4×100 m freestyle 34 points
Bronze medal – third place2019 London4x100m freestyle 34 points
Bronze medal – third place2022 Madeira100 m breaststroke SB6
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast 50 m freestyle S7
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham 50 m freestyle S7

Personal

Levy has cerebral palsy and a vision impairment due to being born 15 weeks premature.[1][2] He attended St Andrew's Cathedral School in Sydney.[3] He works at Westpac Bank, is on the board of directors of the New South Wales disability organisation Ability Options, and lives in Sydney.[1][4]

He completed a Bachelor of Business at Swinburne University of Technology in 2015 and a Master of Business Administration at the University of Canberra in 2021.[5] In 2020, he released a memoir/self-help book, Keeping Your Head Above Water: Inspirational Insights From a Champion.[6]

Competitive career
Levy at the 2012 Summer Paralympics

Levy is classified as an S7 swimmer.[1][7] Levy first competed for Australia in 2003; that year, he broke the 200 m freestyle short course world record.[1] He competed but did not win any medals at the 2004 Athens Games.[8] He competed at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships and won four silver and four bronze medals at the 2007 Telstra Short Course Championships.[1] At the 2008 Beijing Games, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 m medley relay 34 pts event.[8] At the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay event, two silver medals in the 100 m breaststroke and 100 m freestyle events, and two bronze medals in the 50 m butterfly and 200 m individual medley events.

At the 2012 London Paralympics he won five medals: a gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay, a silver medal in the 100 m freestyle S7, and three bronze medals in the 200 m individual medley SM7, 100 m breaststroke SB7 and 4×100 m medley relay.[8] He also participated in the 400 m freestyle S7, 50 m butterfly S7 and 50 m freestyle S7 events.[8]

Competing at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, he won two gold medals in the 200 m individual medley S7 and 4×100 m freestyle relay and a silver medal in the 100 m freestyle S7.[9][10]

At the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships, he won silver medals in the Men's 100 m freestyle S7 and 200 m medley SM7 and bronze medals in the Men's 50 m freestyle S7 and Men's 4×100 m freestyle relay 34 points.[11][12][13][14] He finished fourth in the men's 100 m breaststroke SB7, men's 50 m butterfly S7 and men's 4 × 100 m medley relay 34pts.[15]

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won the bronze medal in the Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM7. He placed fourth in the Men's 50 m Freestyle S7 and Men's 100 m Freestyle S7, fifth in the Men's 50 m Butterfly S7, fourth in the Men's 4×100 m Medley Relay (34 points) and fifth in the Men's 4×100 m Freestyle (34 Points).[16]

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, he won gold in the Men's 50m Freestyle (S7).[17]

At the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London, he came third (winning the bronze medal) in the Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle (34 points), came fourth in the Men's 4 × 100 m Medley (34 points), fifth in the Men's 200m Individual Medley (SM7) and Men's 100m Freestyle (S7), sixth in the Men's 400m Freestyle (S7) and seventh in the Men's 100m Breaststroke (SB6) (Oceania Record).[17]

As of 2015, he is a New South Wales Institute of Sport scholarship holder.[18]

At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Levy won gold in the Men's 4 × 100 m freestyle 34 pts, along with Rowan Crothers, William Martin and Ben Popham, breaking the current World Record by almost 2 seconds.[19] He also won a bronze medal in the Men's 100 m breaststroke SB6.[20][21]

Levy won two medals – gold in the Mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay 34 pts and bronze in the Men's 50 m Freestyle S7 at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships, Madeira.[22]

He competed at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where he won the gold medal in the Men's 50 m Freestyle S7. He announced his retirement from swimming at the games.[23]

Recognition

Levy was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."[2] In 2015, he was named Athlte of the Year with a Disability at the New South Wales Sport Awards.[24] In October 2018, he was named Swimming Australia's Paralympic Program Swimmer of the Year.[25] In November 2021, he received a New South Wales Institute of Sport Academic Excellence Award.[26] He was named the 2021 Sport NSW Athlete of the Year with a Disability.[27]

References
Wikinews has related news:
  1. "Matt Levy". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  2. "Australia Day honours list 2014: in full". Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  3. Bannister, Laura (7 September 2009). "Water Boys: St Andrew's Victories Make a Splash". St Andrew's Cathedral School. Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  4. "Our board". Ability Options. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  5. "Matt Levy". LinkedIn. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  6. Keeping Your Head Above Water: Inspirational Insights From a Champion. Celebrity Publishers. 2020. ISBN 978-1922093219.
  7. Wake 2010, p. 4
  8. "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  9. "Men's relay team back it up in Montreal". Swimming Australia News. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  10. "Twenty-seven medals for the Australian swim team in Montreal". Swimming Australia News. 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  11. "Ellie's world record double in golden start for Dolphins in Glasgow". Swimming Australia News. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  12. "Six golds and one world record for Ukraine at Glasgow 2015". International Paralympic Committee News. 16 July 2015. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  13. "Aussies unite for a nail biting bronze medal win in the men's relay". Swimming Australia News. 18 July 2015. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  14. "Seven golds in seven days for Dias at Glasgow 2015". International Paralympic Committee News. 19 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  15. "Matthew Levy results". Glasgow 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  16. "Matthew Levy". Rio Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  17. "Matthew Levy". Swimming Australia. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  18. "2015 swimming scholarships" (PDF). New South Wales Institute of Sport website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  19. "Men's Relay Team Smash World Record to Capture Gold | Swimming Australia". www.swimming.org.au. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  20. "Tokyo Paralympics updates: Steelers miss out on third straight wheelchair rugby gold, Australia wins five more swimming medals". ABC News. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  21. "Men's Relay Team Smash World Record to Capture Gold". Swimming Australia. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  22. "Grant Patterson". 2022 World Para Swimming Championships. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  23. Eder, Billie; Decent, Tom; Helmers, Caden (2 August 2022). "Commonwealth Games 2022 LIVE updates: Day 4, Results, medals, schedule, how to watch, sports, countries". The Age. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  24. "LEVY Matt". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  25. "Australian Swimming stars in and out of the water celebrated". Swimming Australia website. 28 October 2018. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  26. "Congratulations to Matthew Levy OAM on taking out the 2021 NSWIS Awards Academic Excellence Award/". NSW Institute of Sport. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  27. "Tokyo Games Gold Medallists Headline Award Recipient". Sport NSW. 24 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.

Bibliography
  • Wake, Rebekka (September 2010). "Golden Glow Over Australian Swimming". Australian Paralympian. Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2.
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