Carolyn Connors

Carolyn Connors (born 1960/1961)[1] is an Australian Paralympic swimmer with a vision impairment. She comes from Newcastle and has been blind since birth.[1] She began competitive swimming at the age of 12.[1] At the 1980 Arnhem Paralympics, where she was the only female Australian swimmer to be selected,[2] she won two silver medals in the Women's 100 m Butterfly A and Women's 100 m Freestyle A events and a bronze medal in the Women's 4x50 m Individual Medley A event.[3] She participated in the 1977 and 1982 FESPIC Games, winning four gold medals in the latter competition, and won 20 swimming gold medals throughout her career.[1][2] She also broke a world record in the 100 m butterfly at the National Blind Swimming Championships in 1980.[2] Her first swimming coach was Dennis Day and she was later coached by Eric Arnold.[1]

Carolyn Connors

Personal information
Nationality	Australia
Medal record Swimming Paralympic Games 1980 Arnhem Women's 100 m Butterfly A 1980 Arnhem Women's 100 m Freestyle A 1980 Arnhem Women's 4x50 m Individual Medley A

She completed a year-long course at a teacher's college and was then told that she would not be allowed to do the practical teaching component.[1] After the teaching course she studied at the University of Newcastle, and was named the university's sportsperson of the year in 1981.[4] In 1983, she switched from swimming to athletics to allow herself more time to concentrate on her studies.[1]

References

1. Cornish, Wes (18 December 1983). "Carolyn Lines Up for a New Start – The Fast Lane to New Glory". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 38. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
2. "It's a sporting life – 40 years of learning". The Newcastle Herald. 23 September 2005. pp. 20–21.
3. "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
4. "Past Recipients – Sports Person Of The Year". Newcastle University Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2012.