Jacqueline Rose "Jacqui" Freney OAM (born 6 June 1992) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2012 London Games, she broke Siobhan Paton's Australian record of six gold medals at a single Games by winning her seventh gold medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S7. She finished the Games with eight gold medals, more than any other participant in the Games.
 2012 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Freney | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Jacqueline Rose Freney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 June 1992 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Backstroke, Freestyle, Medley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classifications | S7, SB7, SM7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Richmond Valley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Michael Freney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography edit
Jacqueline Rose Freney was born in Brisbane, Queensland with cerebral palsy diplegia.[1][2] She won three bronze medals at the 2008 Beijing Games in the women's 100m freestyle S8 event, 400m freestyle S8 event and 50m freestyle S8 event.[3] In 2012 at the London Paralympic Games she won 8 gold medals in the women's 100m backstroke S7, women's 50m butterfly S7, 100m freestyle S7, 400m freestyle S7, 50m freestyle S7, 200m individual medley SM7, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay 34 pts, and the 4 × 100 m medleyrelay event. She broke Siobhan Paton's Australian record of six gold medals at a single Games by winning her seventh gold medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S7.[4] In breaking the record she said "Seven, I am in heaven".[4] She finished the Games with eight gold medals, more than any other participant in the games.[5]
Freney lives in Skenners Head, Ballina, New South Wales, and is coached by her father Michael.[1] Her grandfather Peter Freney coached 2000 Sydney Games multiple gold medallist Siobhan Paton.[1] Freney's grandfather now assists in her career development. In 2008, she was awarded an Australian Institute of Sport paralympic swimming scholarship.[1]
At the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands, she won silver medals in the women's 100m freestyle and 400m freestyle events S8 events. In 2011, a week before the Can-Am Swimming Open, Freney was reclassified from S8 to S7. At the 2011 Can-Am Swimming Open in La Mirada, she set a world record in the S7 400m freestyle event twice, once during the heats and again during the finals with a time of 4:59.95 on her way to winning a gold medal. At the Can-Am Swimming Open, she won two silver medals in the S7 50m and 100m freestyle events.[6]
Freney was unable to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro due to a medical issue. Freney had been suffering from electromagnetic sensations triggered by strenuous training and was unable to find an answer as to why this issue occurred.[7]
Recognition edit
In February 2012 Freney was named Ballina Shire's Sportsperson of the Year.[8] She was a finalist for the 2012 Australian Paralympian of the Year,[5] and won both best female and the top overall honour.[9] In 2012, Freney was declared Paralympian of the Year by Australia Post and this achievement was celebrated with the release of a commemorative stamp which featured the inspirational athlete.[10] In November 2013 she was named New South Wales Young Australian of the Year for 2014.[11] On 25 January 2014 she was named Young Australian of the Year.[12] The following day she was also awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia "For service to sport as a gold medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games".[2] In October 2014 she was inducted into the Path of Champions at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.[13]
Freney earned her Young Australian of the Year award in 2014 by being actively involved in the community, working with Swimming Australia as a motivational speaker to help people with disabilities to reach their true potential.[14]
References edit
- ^ a b c d "IPC Profile – Jacqueline Freney". International Paralympic Committee Website. International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ a b "Australia Day honours list 2014: in full". Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Freney already thinking about Rio Olympics". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Freney favourite to win top Paralympian". AAP. 5 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
- ^ "Sport News". Paralympic.org. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ Hecht, Hannah (4 April 2016). "8-Time London Gold Medalist Freney Won't Swim Rio Paralympic Games". Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "Freney is a top sport". Ballina Shire Advocate. 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ Foreman, Glen (9 November 2013). "Jacqueline Freney named Paralympian of Year". Courier Mail. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- ^ "Paralympian of the Year, Jacqueline Freney celebrated by Australia Post". Australia Post. 9 November 2012. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "Jacqui Freney named NSW's Young Australian of the Year". Coffs Harbour Advocate. 19 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- ^ "Paralympian Young Australian of the Year". Sky News Australia. 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ "Olympic and World Champion swimmers inducted into Path of Champions". Swimming Australia News, 21 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ "Australian of the Year Awards". Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
External links edit
Media related to Jacqueline Freney at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- Jacqui Freney at Swimming Australia at the Wayback Machine (archived 6 September 2015)
- Jacqueline Freney at the International Paralympic Committee
- Jacqueline Freney at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived)
