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Benjamin James Austin (born November 7, 1980 in Wellington, New South Wales) is an Elite Athlete with a Disability (EAD) swimmer for Australia. His classification is S8 (above elbow amputee). Ben enjoys photography, bird watching, bushwalking, hunting, movies and music. He is also a lifeguard and an administrative assistant, and is nicknamed Austo or Windmill.
| Olympic medal record |
| Men's aquatics |
| Gold |
2004 Athens |
100 m freestyle-S8 |
| Gold |
2004 Athens |
4x100 m medley relay |
| Silver |
2004 Athens |
100 m butterfly-S8 |
| Silver |
2004 Athens |
200 m individual medley-S8 |
| Silver |
2004 Athens |
4x100 m freestyle relay |
| Silver |
2000 Sydney |
200 m individual medley-S8 |
| Silver |
2000 Sydney |
4x100 m freestyle relay |
| Bronze |
2004 Athens |
50 m freestyle-S8 |
| Bronze |
2000 Sydney |
100 m butterfly-S8 |
[edit] Biography
Ben was born as a normal baby. However, no doctor was there when he was born, and an unnoticed complication meant a trip by air ambulance to Sydney two weeks later and the amputation of his left arm. Apparently, it got tangled with his umbilical cord.
But Ben's disability never got in his way. He played rugby, basketball and water polo. And since his three sisters have all swum in state championships, Ben decided to give swimming a try. And it was at his first disability state championships where he got noticed by the head coach. The rest, as they say, is history.
[edit] 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games
| Heats |
Finals |
- 50 m EAD Freestyle
- 100 m EAD Freestyle
|
- 50 m EAD Freestyle
- 100 m EAD Freestyle
|
[edit] 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games
| Heats |
Finals |
- 50 m EAD Freestyle
- 100 m EAD Freestyle
|
- 50 m EAD Freestyle
- 100 m EAD Freestyle
|
[edit] External links
