Peter Leek
 Peter Leek multiple gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Peter Alan Stuart Leek | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |
 Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
27 September 1988 Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, butterfly, medley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classifications | S8, SB7, SM8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Cranbrook Eastern Edge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Peter Alan Stuart Leek, OAM[1] (born 27 September 1988)[2] was an Australian swimmer with ataxic cerebral palsy, who won eight medals at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.[3]
Early life
Leek was born in the Sydney suburb of Blacktown. He began swimming at the age of eight to aid his disability.[2] He was a member of Ripples St Marys Swimming Club for 13 years. He attended Oxley Park Public School during his primary school years, and then Colyton High School.[4]
Career
His debut in major international competition was at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships in Durban, South Africa where he won two gold, two silver and one bronze medals.[2]
At the 2008 Beijing Games, he won three gold medals in the Men's 100 m Butterfly S8, Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM8, and Men's 4x100 m Medley 34 pts events, for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia,[1] four silver medals in the Men's 50 m Freestyle S8, Men's 4x100 m Freestyle 34 pts, Men's 400 m Freestyle S8, and Men's 100 m Backstroke S8 events, and a bronze medal in the Men's 100 m Freestyle S8 event.[5] He broke four world records and four Paralympic records.[2]
He competed in the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships, held in Eindhoven, Netherlands where he won six gold medals and one silver medal.[2] Leek's medals helped Australia's national Paralympic swim team finish sixth overall.
He missed the 2010 Commonwealth Games due to glandular fever.[6]
He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship recipient.[7]
Recognition
- 2008: Junior Athlete of the Year award from the Australian Paralympic Committee[8]
- 2009: Medal of the Order of Australia[1]
- 2009: New South Wales Disabled Athlete of the Year[9]
- Hawkesbury Sportsperson of the Year award in 2008 and 2009, the first athlete to have received the award in two consecutive years.[10]
- 2009: Young Sports Achievement Award Penrith City Council[11]
- 2010: Swimming Australia's Multi-Class Swimmer of the Year.[12]
References
- 1 2 3 "Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)". ABC News. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Peter Leek Athlete Profile". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ↑ "Peter Leek Profile". IPC Swimming. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ↑ Stevens, Kylie (29 September 2008). "Whirlwind trip for gold medallist Peter Leek". Penrith City Star. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ↑ "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ↑ "Leek to miss Commonwealth Games due to glandular fever". Swimming Australia News, 21 September 2010. Swimming Australia.
- ↑ Wake 2010, p. 4
- ↑ "Cowdrey is the best of the best". Australian Paralympic Committee. 23 October 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ↑ "Sports briefs". St Marys - Mt Druitt Star. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ↑ Rhodes, Brendan (26 August 2009). "Our humble hero: Peter Leek wins back to back award". Hawkesbury Gazette. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ↑ "Australia Day Awards". Penrith City Council Website. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ↑ "Coutts leads AIS to four trophies at Swimmer of the Year Awards". =Australian Sports Commission. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
Bibliography
- Wake, Rebekka (September 2010). "Golden Glow Over Australian Swimming". Australian Paralympian. Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2.