Jessicah Lee Schipper (born 19 November 1986) is an Australian former competition

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 ...

and former world record holder for 200 metres butterfly. Specialising in the 100 and 200 metres

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

, she won several gold medals at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

and the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

between 2004 and 2009.

Early life

In 2003, Schipper finished high school at

Pine Rivers State High School Pine Rivers State High School is a government state secondary school in the suburb of Strathpine, City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. First opened in 1964, Pine Rivers High School is a large school. Principals Pine Rivers State Hig ...

Swimming career

Schipper trained at the Redcliffe Leagues Lawnton club in Brisbane, under veteran coach Ken Wood, until the conclusion of the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. She then trained under the guidance of Stephan Widmar with the

Commercial Swimming Club Commercial Swimming Club is a swimming club that is based at the Fortitude Valley Pool in centre of Brisbane, Queensland. Club members have represented the country at the Olympic Games, FINA World Aquatics Championships and Commonwealth Games. ...

. Schipper made her debut for Australia at the

2003 World Aquatics Championships The 10th FINA World Aquatics Championships were held July 12–27, 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. The championships featured competition in all 5 of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Synchronised swimming, Water Polo, and Open Water Swimming. ...

in Barcelona, winning the bronze medal as part of the 4×100-metre medley relay team. In 2004, she competed in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in Athens, placing 4th in the 100-metre butterfly with the time of 58.22 seconds. She also collected the gold medal in the 4×100-metre medley relay, having swum the butterfly leg in the heats of the event. She was awarded the

Order of Australia Medal 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 ...

in January 2005 for service to sport. At the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

held in Melbourne she won the gold medal in both the 100- and 200-metre butterfly events, as well as the silver medal in 50-metre butterfly. She combined with

Sophie Edington Sophie Jane Edington (born 12 December 1984) is an Australian backstroke and freestyle swimming (sport), swimmer. Biography Edington trained at the Kingscliff ASC club under Greg Salter. After Salter took up an overseas coaching role Edington ...

Leisel Jones Leisel Marie Jones, OAM (born 30 August 1985) is an Australian former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medallist. A participant in the 2000 Summer Olympics – at just 15 years old – and 2004 Summer Olympics, she was part of gold-medal- ...

and

Libby Lenton Lisbeth Constance Trickett, (; born 28 January 1985) is an Australian retired competitive swimmer. She was a gold medallist at the 2004, 2008, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the world record holder in the short-course (25m) 100-metre fr ...

to set a new world record in the 4×100-metre medley relay, collecting her third gold medal of the meet. On 17 August 2006, Schipper set a new world record in the women's 200m butterfly, on the opening night of the

2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The tenth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2006 in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from August 17–20. Six List of world records in swimming, worl ...

. Schipper won the final in 2:05.40, bettering the mark of 2:05.61 set by Otylia Jędrzejczak at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships. Schipper won the gold medal in the 200-metre butterfly at the

2007 World Aquatics Championships The 2007 World Aquatics Championships, or the XII FINA World Championships, were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007. The competition took place at three locations in central Melbourne: the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic C ...

in Melbourne, as well as the silver medal in the 100-metre butterfly, behind fellow Australian Libby Lenton.

2008 Summer Olympics

Schipper qualified for the 100- and 200-metre butterfly events in Beijing. Schipper won two bronze medals in her individual events at the

in Beijing, the 100-metre and 200-metre butterfly. Schipper also won gold in the 4×100-metre medley relay team with teammates Leisel Jones,

Libby Trickett Lisbeth Constance Trickett, (; born 28 January 1985) is an Australian retired competitive swimmer. She was a gold medallist at the 2004, 2008, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the world record holder in the short-course (25m) 100-metre fr ...

and

Emily Seebohm Emily Jane Seebohm, Order of Australia, OAM (born 5 June 1992) is a retired Australian Swimming (sport), swimmer and television personality. She has appeared at four Olympic Games between Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 and Swimming ...

. Following the Olympics, Schipper split with her coach Ken Wood. This came after Wood had sold Schipper's training program to Chinese swimmer

Liu Zige Liu Zige (, born 31 March 1989) is a world record-holding professional swimmer from China. She swam for China at the 2008 Olympics, where she won the women's 200m butterfly in a new world record of 2:04.18. Career She won the women's 200m butte ...

, who broke Schipper's world record to take the 200-metre title. She then joined the

in Brisbane, under Stephan Widmar, who previously coached her Australian relay teammates Leisel Jones and Trickett. Schipper maintained her consistency at the world championship level. On day two, she took silver in the 100-metre butterfly, clocking the second fastest time in history. On day five she retained her 200-metre butterfly title in world record time, defeating

by 0.49 of a second.

2012 Summer Olympics

In 2012, Schipper again qualified for the 100- and 200-metre butterfly events. She was eliminated in the heats of the 100 m. She qualified for the semifinal of the 200-metre, but not for the final. Her 200-metre semifinal time of 2:08.21 was nearly 5 seconds slower than her best time in that event.

World & Olympic accomplishments

References

External links