Chantel Louise Wolfenden, OAM (born 15 January 1986) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. Born in the New South Wales town of Lithgow, she started to swim at the age of five as therapy for

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

. She underwent three operations to cut and lengthen her

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

. She competed at the 2002

IPC Swimming World Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known also as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Prev ...

Mar Del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

winning a gold medal in the women's 400m Freestyle S7 and two silver medals in the women's 100m Backstroke and women's 100m Freestyle S7 events. At the 2004 Athens Games, she won a gold medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S7 event, for which she received a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

, a silver medal in the Women's 100 m Freestyle S7 event, and four bronze medals in the Women's 100 m Backstroke S7, Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM7, Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle 34 pts and Women's 4 × 100 m Medley 34 pts events. She swam for the Fairmead Swim Club in

Bundaberg Bundaberg () is the major regional city in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the List of cities in Australia by population, ninth largest city in the state. The Bundaberg central business district is situa ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and was coached by Paul Simms. Between 2002 and 2006, she was an

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

Paralympic swimming scholarship holder. She was also a

Queensland Academy of Sport The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1991 by the Queensland Government to support athletes in the state of Queensland. Its headquarters are currently located at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in ...

scholarship holder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfenden, Chantel Female Paralympic swimmers for Australia Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Cerebral palsy-category Paralympic competitors Swimmers with cerebral palsy Sportswomen from New South Wales Sportswomen from Queensland Sportspeople from Bundaberg Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian Institute of Sport Paralympic swimmers 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Lithgow, New South Wales Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming Australian female freestyle swimmers Australian female backstroke swimmers Australian female medley swimmers S7-classified para swimmers 21st-century Australian sportswomen