Brendon Smith (born 4 July 2000) is an Australian swimmer. He won the bronze medal in the 400 metre individual medley at the 2020 Summer Olympics and has competed in the Summer Universiade and the 2021 Australian Swimming Trials. Smith and Rob Woodhouse are the only Australian men to have won an Olympic medal in an individual medley event.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 July 2000[2] Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Griffith University[1] Nunawading (former) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Michael Bohl[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editSmith trained with the Nunawading Swimming Club in Melbourne's Eastern Suburbs until 2022.[3] In 2018 he was named by SwimSwam as one of the "20 Australians Under 20 You Need to be Watching" in the men's category.[4][1] In 2022, Smith left his swim club in Nunawading and began training with Michael Bohl at Griffith University.[1]
Smith is a student at La Trobe University, studying a Bachelor of Business in Accounting and Finance.[2]
Smith is a lifesaver at the Half Moon Bay SLSC in Black Rock, Victoria. He competed at the Australian Youth Lifesaving Team at the 2018 Lifesaving World Championships. Smith was the only Victorian on the team. He broke two records and took home five medals, including a win in the men's 17-18 200m Obstacle Race.[5]
Career
editHe competed at the 2018 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in the 200 metre, 400 metre, and 800 metre freestyle events and the 200 metre individual medley, winning the silver medal in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:52.67.[6][7] A year later in 2019, Smith competed at the 2019 Summer Universiade[2] in Naples, Italy in the 200 metre breaststroke, 800 metre freestyle and 400 metre individual medley and won the bronze medal in the 4×200 metre freestyle relay alongside Maxwell Carleton, Ashton Brinkworth, Jacob Hansford and Cameron Tysoe.[8]
2021 Summer Olympics Trials
editSmith competed at the 2021 Australian Swimming Trials in the 200 metre, 800 metre, and 1500 metre freestyle events as well as both the 200 metre and 400 metre individual medley events. He qualified for the Australian Olympic swim team after achieving an Australian record in the 400 metre individual medley final with a time of 4:10.04, surpassing the previous record set by Thomas Fraser-Holmes at the 2013 Australian Swimming Championships with a time of 4:10.14.[9][10]
2020 Summer Olympics
edit| 2020 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
400 m individual medley | 4:10.38 |
At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith broke both the Australian and Commonwealth record in the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4.09.27 in the prelims heats.[11] In the final, he won a bronze medal in the event with a time of 4:10.38, which was 0.10 seconds slower than silver medalist in the event Jay Litherland of the United States, less than one second slower than the gold medalist in the event Chase Kalisz of the United States, and marked Australia's first medal at the 2020 Olympic Games.[12][13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Keith, Braden (14 February 2022). "Olympic Bronze Medalist Brendon Smith Joins Michael Bohl's Group At Griffith". SwimSwam. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ a b c "Brendon Smith reflects on World Universiade success". La Trobe University. 29 August 2019. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "Current Nunawading Elite Athletes". Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ Baylis, Paddy (26 December 2018). "20 Australians Under 20 You Need to be Watching – Men". SwimSwam. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "Brendon Smith". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Event 19 Men 400 LC Meter Freestyle". 25 August 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ Hy-Tek (26 August 2018). "2018 Jr Pan Pacific Swimming Championships: Results". USA Swimming. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ "30th Summer Universiade 2019 Main Results". Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ Dornan, Ben (13 June 2021). "BRENDON SMITH HITS 4:10.04 400 IM AUSTRALIAN RECORD TO QUALIFY FOR TOKYO". SwimSwam. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "Event 2 Male 400 LC Metre IM". Swimming Australia. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "2020 Summer Olympics Results - Swimming: Men's 400m Individual Medley". ESPN. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ "Best bits of the Tokyo Olympics: Australia wins first gold, silver and bronze in pool". ABC. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
External links
edit- Brendon Smith at World Aquatics
- Brendon Smith at the International Swimming League
- Brendon Smith at Swimming Australia (archived)
- Brendon Smith at the Australian Olympic Committee
- Brendon Smith at Olympics.com
- Brendon Smith at Olympedia
