Rick Pendleton

Rick Pendleton
Pendleton in 2008
Personal information
Full nameRick Pendleton
Nationality Australia
Born (1985-01-12) 12 January 1985 (age 39)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke, medley
ClassificationsS10, SB9, SM10
ClubUniversity of Sunshine Coast Spartans
Medal record
Men's paralympic swimming
Representing  Australia
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens 4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 200 m medley SM10
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London 200 m medley SM10
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London 4×100 m medley
World Championships (LC)
Silver medal – second place 2006 Durban 200 m medley SM10
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Durban 100 m breaststroke SB9
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Glasgow 100 m breaststroke SB9

Rick Pendleton, OAM[1] (born 12 January 1985) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer from Sydney. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics,[2] his fourth Games.

Personal

He was born without his left hand. He turned to swimming after his rugby league career was ended by a knee ligament injury. He attended high school at Marcellin College Randwick.[3] He is married to Jemma and they have a daughter Amara.[4]

Career

He has won five Paralympic medals. He won a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games in the 4×100 m medley 34pts event, and two gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Games, at the 4×100 m medley 34pts and 200 m individual medley SM10 events.[5] At the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships in Durban, South Africa he won a silver medal in the 200m individual medley and bronze in the 100m breaststroke.[5]

In 2011, at the age of 26, he competed in the Can-Am Swimming Open, where he earned a gold medal in the S10 200m butterfly event, a silver medal in the men's SM10 200 m individual medley, and a bronze in the 100m freestyle event.[6]

Prior to the 2012 London Paralympics, he moved to the Sunshine Coast, Queensland to be coached by Jon Shaw.[7] At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, he won a bronze medal in the 4×100 m medley relay 34pts and a bronze medal in the 200 m individual medley SM10.[5]

Competing at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, he won a bronze medal in the 100 m breaststroke SB9.[8] He finished fourth in the 4 × 100 m medley relay 34pts, fifth in the 200 m individual medley SM10, ninth in the 100 m butterfly S10, and eleventh in the 50 m freestyle S10.[9]

He works as a swimming coach at Matthew Flinders Anglican College's Flinders Swim Club.[10] In 2015, he was coached by Jan Cameron at the University of the Sunshine Coast.[11]

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics Games, Pendleton competed in three events. He placed fifth in Men's 100m Breaststroke SB9 but didn't progress to the finals in Men's 100m Butterfly S10 and Men's 200m Individual Medley SM10. [12]

Recognition

In 2009, he received a Medal of the Order of Australia for his 2008 gold medals.[1] He was an Australian Institute of Sport paralympic swimming scholarship holder.[13]

His philosophy is "It only takes a moment to lose, it takes a lifetime to forget. Even coal under pressure becomes a diamond."[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)". ABC News. 27 January 2009. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Swimming Australia Paralympic Squad Announcement". Swimming Australia News. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  3. ^ Govorcin, Damir (9 November 2008). "Marcellin honours old boy for Paralympic golds". The Catholic Weekly. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Rick Pendelton". International Paralympic Committee website. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "Rick Pendleton". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Sport News". Paralympic.org. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Rick Pendelton". Australian Paralympic Committee website. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Aussies add two silver and two bronze on Day 3 in Glasgow". Swimming Australia News. 16 July 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Rick Pendleton results". Glasgow 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Flinders Swim Club". Matthew Flinders Anglican College. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  11. ^ "Jan Cameron joins elite coaching group with Platinum recognition". Swimming Australia website. 19 November 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Rick Pendelton". Rio Paralympics Official Results. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  13. ^ "AIS at the Paralympics". Australian Sports Commission Website. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.