Thomas Young (swimmer)

Thomas Young (born 3 May 1991)[1] is a British Paralympic swimmer.[2] He represented Britain at the 2012 London Paralympics and has won medals at both the long course and short course World Championships.[2]

Thomas Young

Personal information
National team	United Kingdom
Born	3 May 1991 Lancaster, England
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle, butterfly, medley, backstroke
Classifications	S8, SB7, SM8
Club	Portsmouth Northsea
Medal record Men's paralympic swimming Representing  Great Britain IPC World Championships 2010 Eindhoven 400m freestyle S8 2010 Eindhoven 100m backstroke S8 2010 Eindhoven 200m medley SM8 IPC World Championships 25m 2009 Rio de Janeiro 100m backstroke S8 2009 Rio de Janeiro 100m breaststroke SB7 IPC European Championships 2009 Reykjavik 100 m backstroke S8 2009 Reykjavik 4x100m medley relay 34pts 2009 Reykjavik 200 m ind. medley – SM8

Personal history

Young was born in Lancaster, England in 1991. He was born without a right hand and forearm and two club feet.[3][4]

Swimming career

Young was introduced to swimming at the age of five by his mother, who wanted him to be able to swim as he became older.[2] He began competing at the age of 12 and was subsequently classified as a S8 disability swimmer.[2] In 2008 Young attempted to qualify for the British team for the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, but missed out on a place in the 400m freestyle event by 0.3 seconds.[4] In 2009 he first represented Great Britain at a major international tournament, the IPC Swimming European Championships in Reykjavik.[2] Young reached the finals of six events in Iceland. On the first day of the Championships he finished in second place behind Russia's Konstantin Lisenkov in the 100m backstroke S8, winning his first major medal.[5] He came fourth in the 400m freestyle S8, eighth in the 50m freestyle S8 and was disqualified in the 100m breaststroke - SB7.[6][7][8] A second silver medal was won in the men's 4 × 100 m medley relay, where he took the first leg the race.[9] In his final event, the 200m individual medley SM8, he swam 2:34.34 to just edge out Spain's Alejandro Sánchez Palomero to take third place and take his second medal of the tournament.[10]

Later in 2009 Young travelled to Rio de Janeiro to take part in the IPC Swimming World Championships - short course. There he won two further international medals, the silver in his favoured 100m backstroke S8 and bronze in the 100m breaststroke SB7.[2] The next year he travelled to Eindhoven with the British team to participate in the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships. This would be Young's most impressive international tournament, winning three medals including a gold in the 400m Freestyle S8. His other two medals were both bronze, won in the 100m backstroke S8 and the 200m Individual Medley SM8.[2] In 2011 he attended his second European Championship, this time in Berlin. There he won a gold and a bronze.[1]

In 2012 Young was selected for the Great Britain team to compete at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. He had high hopes going into the games and expected podium finishes in some of his seven events. He qualified for the finals in all his events bar the 200m individual medley SM8. Young finished 6th in the 100m freestyle S8 and 7th in the 50m freestyle S8. Despite qualifying in 1st place in the heats, the British team finished 5th in the 4 × 100m freestyle relay 34pts. Young was also fifth in the 100 m breaststroke SB7. In his stronger events, the 400 metre freestyle S8 and the 100 metre backstroke S8 he finished fourth in both; beaten by fellow team-mates Sam Hynd and Oliver Hynd to the bronze medal places.[2]

References

1. "About Thomas Young". Channel 4. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
2. "Young, Thomas". IPC Swimming. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
3. "GB teenagers star at Paralympic World Swim event". BBC Sport. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
4. Watt, Chris (7 September 2011). "Swimmer Thomas Young aims to peak at London 2012". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
5. "Men's 100m Backstroke - S8: Final" (PDF). ifsport.is. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original (pdf) on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
6. "Men's 400m Freestyle - S8: Final" (PDF). ifsport.is. 20 October 2011. Archived from the original (pdf) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
7. "Men's 50m Freestyle - S8: Final" (PDF). ifsport.is. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original (pdf) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
8. "Men's 100m Breaststroke - SB7: Final" (PDF). ifsport.is. 19 October 2011. Archived from the original (pdf) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
9. "Men's 4X100m Medley - 34 Pts: Final" (PDF). ifsport.is. 20 October 2011. Archived from the original (pdf) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
10. "Men's 200m Individual Medley - SM8: Final" (PDF). ifsport.is. 24 October 2011. Archived from the original (pdf) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.