William Martin (swimmer)

William Michael Martin, OAM (born 22 November 2000) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He won three gold and one silver medals at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, breaking two world records and a Paralympic record in the process.

William Martin
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Born (2000-11-22) 22 November 2000
Rockhampton, Queensland
EducationSt. Joseph's Nudgee College
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportParalympic swimming
Disability classS9
ClubNudgee College Swimming
Coached byDavid Proud
Medal record
Paralympic swimming
Representing  Australia
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place2020 Tokyo400 m freestyle S9
Gold medal – first place2020 Tokyo4×100 m freestyle 34 pts
Gold medal – first place2020 Tokyo100 m butterfly S9
Silver medal – second place2020 Tokyo4×100 m medley 34 pts
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2022 Madeira100 m butterfly S9
Bronze medal – third place2022 Madeira100 m freestyle S9

Personal

Martin was born on 22 November 2000. Martin's impairment is the result of a stroke he suffered in 2007. He has a vision impairment, and his hand also shakes due to a tremor.[1] He was a learn-to-swim teacher at Nudgee College Swimming in Brisbane. As of 2021, he is undertaking an urban planning degree at the Queensland University of Technology.

Swimming career

Martin took up swimming after his stroke to help improve his movement. He is classified as an S9 swimmer. At the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London, he finished fifth in the Men's 100m butterfly (S10) and ninth in both the Men's 50m freestyle (S10) and Men's 100m freestyle (S10).[2]

Martin broke his own world record with a time of 57.73 in the Men's 100m butterfly (S9) at the 2021 Australian Swimming Trials.[3]

At the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Martin won the gold medal in the Men's 400 m freestyle S9 with a time of 4:10.25, a Paralympic record. He also won gold and set a new world record of 57.19 in the Men's 100 m butterfly S9. Martin won gold in the Men's 4×100 m freestyle 34 pts, along with Rowan Crothers, Matt Levy and Ben Popham, breaking the current World Record by almost 2 seconds.[4] In the Men's 4x100m Medley 34 pts, he swam together with Timothy Disken, Timothy Hodge, and Ben Popham.[5] His team won the silver medal in a time of 4:07.70, just over a second behind the winners, RPC, who set a new world record.

At the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships, Madeira, Martin won two medals - silver in the Men's 100 m Butterfly S9 and bronze in the Men's 100 m Freestyle S9 [6] He did not win a medal in two other events.

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, he finished 4th in the Men's 100 m butterfly S10.[7][8] [9]

Recognition
  • 2020 - Paralympics Australia Rookie of the Year [10]
  • 2021 - Swimming Australia Paralympic Program Swimmer of the Year[11]
  • 2022 – Medal of the Order of Australia for service to sport as a gold medallist at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games[12]

References
  1. "William Martin". Internarional Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  2. "William Martin". Swimming Australia. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  3. "Australian Swimming Trials 2021 Day 2". Amazon. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  4. "Men's Relay Team Smash World Record to Capture Gold | Swimming Australia". www.swimming.org.au. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  5. "Australian Paralympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  6. "Grant Patterson". 2022 World Para Swimming Championships. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  7. "Birmingham 2022 - Para-Swimming Team Announcement". Speedo. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. "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.
  9. "2022 Commonwealth Games Results". Commonwealth Games Australia. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  10. "De Rozario And Tudhope Earn Top Honours at Paralympics Australia Awards". Paralympics Australia. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  11. "Historic Tokyo success celebrated in style". Swimming Australia. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  12. "Australia Day 2022 Honours List" (PDF). Governor-General of Australia. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
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