Danyon Joseph Loader (born 21 April 1975) is an Olympic champion, former world record holder

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from New Zealand, based in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

. He remains the national record holder in the 400 metre freestyle short course. He swam for New Zealand at two Summer Olympics (

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

) and three Commonwealth Games (

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

). At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, he garnered a silver medal in the 200 metre butterfly. In 1996 in Atlanta, Loader won two

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

s: in the 200 and 400 metre freestyle. He set world records in the short course 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle. In the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, Loader was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to swimming, and he was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

in 2003. In December 2012, Loader starred in an online video campaign supporting

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

, alongside New Zealand singers

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, and

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, as well as past

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Dame

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References

External links

* * * * * * * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Loader, Danyon 1975 births New Zealand male butterfly swimmers Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming Swimmers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games World record setters in swimming New Zealand male freestyle swimmers New Zealand LGBTQ rights activists Living people Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand Olympic silver medalists for New Zealand Olympic swimmers for New Zealand Sportspeople from Timaru Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Olympic gold medalists in swimming Swimmers from Dunedin 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games

See also

References

External links