Martin Harris (born 1969) is an English former International competitive

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

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

specialist.

Swimming career

Harris represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in international championships during the 1990s, spanning 12 years, swimming at 2x Olympics 1992, 1996, 3x FINA World Long Course Championships, and 5x FINA World Short Course Championships silver medal 100m backstroke 1993 3x European LC championships bronze medal 100m backstroke 1995 and England 3x at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. 1994 - Gold 100m backstroke, 1994 Bronze medley relay, 1998 silver 4x100m medley relay, 2002. During his career, Harris broke more than 50 British long and short-course swimming records. At the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, Harris competed in the men's 100-metre backstroke,. He also swam for the sixth-place British men's team in the 4x100-metre medley relay in the qualifying heats. Thereafter, he became a fixture on the British 4x100-metre medley relay team, winning bronze medals in the medley relay at the 1993 European Championships and the 100m backstroke silver medalist 1993 FINA short course world championships.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Martin Harris
Retrieved 20 May 2015. Harris represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the

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 ...

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 ...

, and

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

. In the 1994 Games in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Harris won a gold medal in the 100-metre backstroke, and a bronze as a member of the English team in the 4x100-metre medley relay. Representing Great Britain at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, he qualified for both the 100-metre and 200-metre backstroke. Harris earned a silver medal in the 100m backstroke at the 1993 FINA World Short Course Championships in Palma and another bronze medal with the British team in the 4x100-metre medley relay at the

1997 FINA Short Course World Championships The 3rd FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) were an international swimming meet organized by FINA. It was held at the Scandinavium Scandinavium () is an indoor arena located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1 ...

. Harris won a silver medal as a member of the English team in the 4x100-metre medley relay, and 4th in the 100m backstroke at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ( Malay: ), officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games (Malay: ), were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 1998 games were the first held in Asia and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th cen ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. At the ASA National British Championships, he won the 50 metres backstroke title six times (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999) and the 100 metres backstroke title six times (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Martin 1969 births Living people Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming English male backstroke swimmers British male backstroke swimmers European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Olympic swimmers for Great Britain People from Bow, London Swimmers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games

Swimming career

See also

References