Ben Popham
{{short description|Australian Paralympic swimmer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Ben Popham
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM|size=100}}
| image = Popham Ben 01 CC.jpg
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| caption = Ben Popham in 2019
| headercolor = Green
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| nationality = Australian
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2000|09|04|df=yes}}
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| country = Australia
| sport = Paralympic swimming
| disability =
| disability_class = S9 SB8, SM9
| event =
| club = Arena Swim Club
| coach = Simon Redmond
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| medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{AUS}}}}
{{MedalSport|Men's Swimming}}
{{MedalCompetition|Paralympic Games}}
{{MedalGold|2020 Tokyo|100m freestyle S8}}
{{MedalGold|2020 Tokyo|4×100 m freestyle 34 pts}}
{{MedalSilver|2020 Tokyo|4×100 m medley 34 pts}}
{{MedalCompetition|World Para Swimming Championships}}
{{MedalSilver|2019 London|100m freestyle S8}}
{{MedalBronze|2019 London|50m freestyle S8}}
{{MedalBronze|2019 London|4x100m freestyle 34 points}}
}}
Ben Popham {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100|OAM}} (born 4 September 2000) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships, winning a silver and two bronze medals, and the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, where he won two gold medals and a silver.
Personal
Popham was born on 4 September 2000. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant.{{Cite news|url=https://www.communitynews.com.au/western-suburbs-weekly/news/ben-popham-18-finalist-for-wa-sports-star-award-after-2018-international-swimming-feat/|title=Ben Popham (18) finalist for WA Sports Star award after 2018 international swimming feat|last=Rifici|first=Victoria|date=17 January 2019|work=Western Suburbs Weekly|access-date=9 September 2019}} In 2011 he was chosen to be one of the Channel Seven Perth Telethon's "Little Telethon Stars".{{Cite news|url=https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/paralympics/tokyo-paralympics-former-telethon-kid-was-ben-popham-qualifies-fastest-for-100m-freestyle-s8-final-c-3776367|title=Tokyo Paralympics: Former Telethon Kid, WA's Ben Popham, qualifies fastest for 100m freestyle S8 final|last=Smith|first=Ben|date=25 August 2021|work=PerthNow|access-date=25 August 2021}} In 2019, he commenced a Bachelor of Commerce at Curtin University.
Swimming career
Popham commenced swimming as a seven year old as part of his physical therapy program for cerebral palsy. Popham made his international debut when he represented Australia at the 2018 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships in Cairns and won the Men's 100m Freestyle S8 and was a member of the Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay (34 points) team.{{Cite web|url=https://www.swimming.org.au/athletes/ben-popham|title=Ben Popham|last=|first=|date=|website=Swimming Australia website|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124193650/https://www.swimming.org.au/athletes/ben-popham |archive-date=24 January 2020 |access-date=9 September 2019}}
At the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London, Popham won a silver medal in the Men's 100m Freestyle S8 and bronze medals in the Men's 50m Freestyle S8 and Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle 34 points.{{Cite web|url=https://www.paralympic.org/london-2019/schedule-results/info-live-results/swlo19/eng/zb/engzb_swimming-athlete-profile-n36209-popham-ben.htm|title=Ben Popham results|last=|first=|date=9 September 2019|website=2019 World Para Swimming Championships results|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826090705/https://www.paralympic.org/london-2019/schedule-results/info-live-results/swlo19/eng/zb/engzb_swimming-athlete-profile-n36209-popham-ben.htm |archive-date=26 August 2021 |access-date=10 September 2019}}
At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Popham won a gold medal in the Men's 100m freestyle S8 with a time of 57.37 Together with Rowan Crothers, Matt Levy and William Martin, he won gold and broke the current World Record for the Men's 4×100 m freestyle 34 pts by almost 2 seconds.{{Cite web |title=Men's Relay Team Smash World Record to Capture Gold {{!}} Swimming Australia |url=https://www.swimming.org.au/news-articles/mens-relay-team-smash-world-record-capture-gold |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=www.swimming.org.au}} In the Men's 4x100m Medley 34 pts, he swam together with Timothy Disken, Timothy Hodge, and William Martin. His team won the silver medal in a time of 4:07.70, just over a second behind the winners, RPC, who set a new world record.{{Cite web|date=16 June 2021|title=Paralympics Australia Names Powerful Para-Swimming Team For Tokyo|url=https://www.paralympic.org.au/2021/06/paralympics-australia-names-powerful-para-swimming-team-for-tokyo/|url-status=live|access-date=17 June 2021|website=Paralympics Australia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616114345/https://www.paralympic.org.au/2021/06/paralympics-australia-names-powerful-para-swimming-team-for-tokyo/ |archive-date=16 June 2021 }}{{Cite web|title=Ben Popham Results|url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/en/results/swimming/athlete-profile-n1498347-popham-ben.htm|url-status=live|access-date=25 August 2021|website=Tokyo Paralympics Official Results|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825115046/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/en/results/swimming/athlete-profile-n1498347-popham-ben.htm |archive-date=25 August 2021 }} He also competed in the 400 m freestyle S8 where he qualified for the final. He came eighth in the final with a time of 4:49.32.
He has since been reclassified to an S9 swimmer, a class for athletes with more physical ability compared to the S8 classification.
Recognition
- 2018 – 'AIS Discovery of the Year' at Swimming Australia Awards.
- 2019 – Curtin University Sportsman of the Year {{Cite web|url=https://wais.org.au/other/news_detail.php?id=10180|title=Ben Popham and Zoe Arancini win Curtin University Sports Awards|last=|first=|date=|website=Western Australian Institute of Sport|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318082156/http://wais.org.au/other/news_detail.php?id=10180 |archive-date=18 March 2020 |access-date=14 December 2019}}
- 2019 – Western Australian Swimming Multi-Class Swimmer of the Year{{Cite web|title=Holly Barratt Named Western Australia's Swimmer of the year|url=https://swimswam.com/holly-barratt-named-western-australias-swimmer-of-the-year/|url-status=live|access-date=22 June 2021|website=SwimSwam|date=24 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607153815/https://swimswam.com/holly-barratt-named-western-australias-swimmer-of-the-year/ |archive-date=7 June 2019 }}
- 2021 –Western Australian Swimming Awards - Sir Frank Beaurepaire Memorial Trophy, Elizabeth Edmondson Medallist and Hancock Prospecting Patron's Trophy for Male Swimming
- 2021 - Swimming Australia Awards Swimmers' Swimmer with Grant Patterson{{Cite web|date=12 February 2022|title=Historic Tokyo success celebrated in style|url=https://www.swimming.org.au/news-articles/historic-tokyo-success-celebrated-style|access-date=14 February 2022|website=Swimming Australia}}
- 2022 – Medal of the Order of Australia for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020 {{Cite web|title=Australia Day 2022 Honours List|url=https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-01/ad22_gazette_-_o_of_a.pdf|access-date=26 January 2022|website=Governor-General of Australia}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20220315170143/https://www.swimming.org.au/athletes/ben-popham Ben Popham] at Swimming Australia (archived)
- {{Paralympics Australia|ben-popham}}
- {{IPC|ben-popham}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popham, Ben}}
Category:Cerebral Palsy category Paralympic competitors
Category:Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
Category:Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
Category:Paralympic gold medalists for Australia
Category:Paralympic silver medalists for Australia
Category:Paralympic medalists in swimming
Category:Swimmers with cerebral palsy
Category:Male Paralympic swimmers for Australia
Category:S8-classified para swimmers
Category:Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships
Category:Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Category:Australian male freestyle swimmers