WATSON Rachael

Date of Birth: 30 Jan 1992

Age: 29

Gender: Female

Sport Class: S4

Birth Country:

Australia

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Swimming	Women's 50m Freestyle - S4	1
	Women's 100m Freestyle - S5

Records

Record	Event	Mark	Date	Location

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 100m Freestyle - S5 Heat 2	Finished
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 50m Freestyle - S4 Heat 2	Finished
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 50m Freestyle - S4 Final	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
1	50m Freestyle - S4	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	40.13
6	4x50m Freestyle Relay - 20 Points	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	2:39.92
9	50m Breaststroke - SB3	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	1:08.19
12	150m Individual Medley - SM4	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	3:38.66
World Championships
2	50m Freestyle - S4	2019	London, GBR	40.62
3	100m Freestyle - S4	2019	London, GBR	1:33.90
8	Mixed 4 x 50m Medley Relay 20 Points	2019	London, GBR	3:02.09
9	50m Breaststroke - SB3	2019	London, GBR	1:13.67
10	150m Individual Medley - SM4	2019	London, GBR	3:47.26
10	4x50m Freestyle Relay - 20 Points	2019	London, GBR	2:58.54

Volunteering, music. (swimming.org.au, 01 Jan 2020)

Occupation:

Languages spoken:

Chandler Swimming Club [Brisbane, QLD, AUS]

Gary Watson [club]

2016 for Australia, in Berlin, Germany (paralympic.org.au, 2016)

She was classified as an S4 swimmer in 2015. (Athlete, 17 Jun 2021)

She first took up swimming as a form of physiotherapy and pain relief. She was spotted by national team coaches at the 2016 Australian national championships, and made her international debut a few months later at a meet in Berlin, Germany. (paralympic.org.au, 2016; activehands.com, 01 Jun 2016)

Winning gold in the S4 50m freestyle at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (swimming.org.au, 01 Jan 2019)

Philosophy:

"Dream, believe, achieve." (swimming.org.au, 01 Jan 2020)

In January 2017 she received a Medal of the Order of Australia [OAM] in recognition of winning a gold medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (paralympic.org, 28 Jan 2017)

In 2016 she received the Australian Institute of Sport [AIS] Discovery of the Year award at the Swimming Australia gala dinner. (couriermail.com.au, 24 Nov 2016)

General Interest

Classification
S4, SB3, SM4 (IPC, 20 Feb 2021)

Type of Impairment
Cerebral Palsy, Impaired muscle power (paralympic.org.au, 2016; activehands.com, 01 Jun 2016 )

Impairment Details
She was born nearly four months premature, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age two. At age 21 she acquired Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the peripheral nervous system. (paralympic.org.au, 2016; activehands.com, 01 Jun 2016)

General
OTHER ACTIVITIES
She is an ambassador for the Guillain-Barre Syndrome [GBS] Foundation of Australia. She has also volunteered at Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane, QLD, Australia, and was named the 2011 Queensland Young Volunteer of the Year in Australia. (Athlete, 17 Jun 2021; Facebook profile, 15 Apr 2019; paralympic.org.au, 2016)

Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/rwatson092

Legend

:: Gold Medal
:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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