Regan Dean Harrison (born 25 November 1977) is an Australian former

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can b ...

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 ...

of the 1990s and 2000s, who won the silver medal at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney as part of the 4×100-metre medley relay team. He was educated at the

Anglican Church Grammar School The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, Day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in East ...

. Training at the

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 th ...

, Harrison made his international debut at the

1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The eighth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 1999 at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia, from 22–29 August. Only two swimmers per country could compe ...

in Sydney, where he won a silver medal in the 100-metre breaststroke and came fourth in the 200-metre breaststroke. The following year he finished second at the Australian Championships behind

Ryan Mitchell Ryan Mitchell may refer to: * Ryan Mitchell (swimmer) * Ryan Mitchell (wrestler) * Ryan Mitchell (Power Rangers) The protagonists and antagonists of ''Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue'' are all residents of planet Earth with no alien characters ap ...

, earning himself selection for the Sydney Olympics. At the Olympics, he finished fourth in the 200 m breaststroke, just 0.15 of a second slower than the bronze medal winner. After Australia's only 100-metre breaststroker

Phil Rogers Philip John Rogers (born 24 April 1971) is a former breaststroke swimmer who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for Australia, starting in 1992. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. At his Olympic debut he w ...

put in a poor performance in the individual event, Australian head coach

Don Talbot Donald Malcolm Talbot (23 August 19333 November 2020) was an Australian Olympic swimming coach and sport administrator. He coached national teams for Canada, the United States and Australia. Early life Talbot was born on 23 August 1933 as t ...

gambled on Harrison to replace Rogers, even though he was not originally selected in the 100-metre breaststroke. Harrison combined with

Matt Welsh Matthew James Welsh (born 18 November 1976) is an Australian swimmer who is the former world champion in the backstroke and butterfly. He took two golds in 50-meter butterfly and 50-meter backstroke, during one hour, at the World Championships ...

Geoff Huegill Geoffrey Andrew Huegill (born 4 March 1979) is an Australian swimmer and dual Olympian who won seventy-two international medals, including two medals in Olympics and six world champion titles, throughout his career. He held eight world records, i ...

and

Michael Klim Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

to claim silver, behind the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

who broke the world record. At the 2001 Australian Championships, Harrison won gold and silver respectively in the 200-metre and 100-metre breaststroke to qualify for the

2001 World Aquatics Championships right The 2001 World Aquatics Championships or the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Fukuoka, Japan between 16 July and 29 July 2001. The opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the swimming and synchronised swimming event ...

in Fukuoka, Japan. He came sixth and 20th in the 200-metre and 100-metre respectively, despite setting an Australian record in the 200-metre event. He combined with Welsh, Huegill and

Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along with ...

to win gold in the 4×100-metre medley relay. Harrison had a poor year in 2002, managing only seventh in the 200-metre breaststroke at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, and being dropped for the 100-metre event and the medley relay. He won gold and silver in the 100-metre and 200-metre breaststroke at the 2003 Australian Championships, but continued to decline, finishing outside the top twenty in both events at the

in Barcelona, Spain. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Harrison was eliminated in the heats of the 200-metre breaststroke. He retired after the Games. After retirement he began swimming recreationally with Ginninderra Marlins.

References

External links

ABC profile

Scout Story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Regan 1977 births Living people Australian male backstroke swimmers Swimmers from Brisbane Olympic swimmers for Australia Australian Institute of Sport swimmers Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Australia World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming People educated at Anglican Church Grammar School Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Goodwill Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia 21st-century Australian people Sportsmen from Queensland

See also

References

External links