Col Pearse
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | Australian | |||||||||||||||||||
Born | Echuca, Victoria | 10 July 2003|||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||
Classifications | S10, SB9, SM10 | |||||||||||||||||||
Club | Kew Swimming Club | |||||||||||||||||||
Coach | Matt King | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Col Pearse (born 10 July 2003) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, he won a bronze medal.[1]
Personal[]
Pearse was born on 10 July 2003 in Echuca, Victoria. At the age of two, his right foot was amputated from below the ankle following a collision with a ride-on lawnmower.[2][3] He still has his heel bone intact so he can walk on his stump, though his right side is about 5 cm shorter than his left so he has a pronounced limp.[3] Pearse grew up in Echuca and, in 2018, he relocated to train with a specialist coach at the H2O Swimming Club.[4] In 2018, he was attending St Michael's Grammar School in Melbourne.[4]
In 2021, Pearse was awarded a Tier 2 Scholarship within the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship & Mentoring Program.[5]
Career[]
Besides swimming, Pearse played junior Australian Rules football for the Lockington Cats under-12s, wearing a blue-and-white hooped prosthetic foot inspired by his beloved Geelong Football Club.[3] In late 2016, he was selected as a member of the Australian Paralympic Development Squad. In 2019, he was selected on his first Australian swim team.[6] At the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships, London, he won the bronze medal in the men's 100 m butterfly S10 and sixth in the men's 100 m backstroke S10 and men's 200 m individual medley SM10.[7]
At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Pearse won the bronze medal in the Men's 100 metre butterfly S10. He finished fourth in the Men's 200 m individual medley SM10 and eight in the Men's 100 m backstroke S10.[8]
References[]
- ^ "Paralympics Australia Names Powerful Para-Swimming Team For Tokyo". Paralympics Australia. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "Col Pearse". International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ a b c Tuckerman, Raelee (7 June 2014). "Inspiring youngster turns adversity into sporting success". Bendigo Advertiser. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ a b "'This is my sport' – St Michael's future Paralympian". St Michael Grammar School website. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "Col Pearse Swimming". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ Johnston, Andrew (26 April 2019). "Col conquers another hurdle". Rivernia Herald. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "Col Pearse". 2019 World Para Swimming Championships Results. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "Col Pearse". Tokyo Paralympics Official Results. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
External links[]
- 2003 births
- Living people
- Male Paralympic swimmers of Australia
- Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships
- Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic medalists in swimming
- Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia