Rachael Elizabeth Watson, (born 30 January 1992) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. Watson represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

at the

2016 Rio Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

winning gold in the 50m Freestyle S4, a feat she repeated at the

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympic ...

Personal

Watson was born on 30 January 1992. She is a triplet and has mild

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, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

however remained functionally independent and ambulant. In her early 20's she acquired

Guillain Barre Syndrome Guillain may refer to: People * Georges Guillain (1876–1961), French neurologist * Gilles Guillain (born 1982), Colombian-born French actor * Robert Guillain (1908–1998), French journalist and author of several books on Japan Medical * ...

that led to severe muscle weakness and peripheral nervous system damage resulting in quadriplegia requiring the use of a wheelchair.

Swimming

Watson took up swimming as part of her rehabilitation from

. The majority of competitions are held in a multi class (MC) format where each athlete swims against the world record for their classification and the swimmer with the highest point score wins the race. Watson has

myopia Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include ...

and is unable to see the results score board at the end of the pool so remains unaware of her placing until she is told. At the

, Watson won the gold medal in the Women's 50m Freestyle S4 in a Paralympic record time of 40.13. Watson became the first swimmer classed S5 or below, to win gold for Australia this millennium. Watson qualified for the 2017 World Championships but the competition was cancelled due to a major earthquake in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

occurring just a fortnight prior to the event. In 2018, Watson was chosen to volunteer at the Gold Coast

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. She could not compete as her swimming classification was not included in this competition. At the postponed

, Watson won the gold medal in the Women's 50m freestyle S4 in a Paralympic record time of 39.36. In 2022, Watson was chosen to volunteer at the Birmingham

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

. She could not compete as her swimming classification was not included in this competition. Watson trains at the Chandler Swimming Club in Brisbane.

Recognition

2016 –

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 ...

Discovery of the Year 2016 –

Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association The Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association is the peak body for sport, recreation and fitness for people with a physical disability or visual impairment, vision impairment in the Australian state of Queensland. The not-for-profit organisatio ...

Most Improved Athlete 2017 – Medal of the Order of Australia 2021 -

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

Blue (university sport) A blue is an award of sporting colours earned by athletes at some universities and schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of blues began at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. They are now awarded at a number of other ...

Award for Sporting Excellence 2022 -

Sportswoman of the Year 2023 - Australian Sports Medal

References

External links

* *
Swimming Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Rachael Female Paralympic swimmers for Australia Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Living people 1992 births S4-classified para swimmers Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Paralympic medalists in swimming Australian female freestyle swimmers Place of birth missing (living people)