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Jenna Jones

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Jenna Jones
2016 Australian Paralympic Team portrait
Personal information
Full nameJenna Jones
Nationality Australia
Born (2001-01-19) 19 January 2001 (age 23)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke, breaststroke, freestyle
ClassificationsS13
ClubSOPAC Swim Club
CoachJob VanDuijnhoven

Jenna Jones (born 19 January 2001) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.[1]

Biography

Jenna Jones was born on 19 January 2001, the fifth of six children; she has four older brothers and a younger sister.[2] When she was in kindergarten, she was diagnosed with rod-cone dystrophy,[3] a rare degenerative eye disease. She played a variety of sports, but as her eyesight deteriorated, she settled on swimming.[2] She uses tappers to alert her when she is approaching the end of the pool. She initially had trouble with competitive swimming, as the wash from other swimmers exacerbated the vertigo she felt due to her visual impairment. In 2014, a new coach, Nick Robinson, thought he could help. Under his tutelage, her times improved significantly over the following six months.[3]

Jones competed in her first Australian Open Championships that year, aged 13, and set eleven age records,[2] winning two silver and two bronze medals. At the 2015 Open Championships, she won a silver medal in the 50 metre backstroke event despite battling illness. Then at the 2015 Australian Age Championships, she won six gold and three silver medals, breaking nine Australian and ten New South Wales records in the S13 class, the swimming classification for blind swimmers.[3] She went on to win her first national short course title in the 50 metre backstroke in November 2015.[2]

Although she was targeting the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo rather than the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio,[3] at the 2016 Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide, she met the Rio qualifying times in the 50, 100 and 400 metre freestyle, 100 metre backstroke and 100 metre breaststroke events,[4] and on 14 April 2016 was named a member of the Australian Paralympic swimming squad.[5]

In 2016, Jones competed at the Rio 2016 Paralympics in five different events. She qualified and finished seventh in the 50 metre freestyle S13 and 100 metre backstroke S13 finals, but didn't qualify for the finals of the 100 metre freestyle S13, 200 metre individual medley SM13 or the 100 metre breaststroke SB13.[6] Coach Robinson worked with Jones in the lead up to Rio to reduce her nausea and vertigo and instructed Jones "But it's your choice, You've gotta start controlling it. In life, you've got to learn to control pain, fear and everything." Reflecting on her preparation to Rio, Jones states "When I am really fit, I feel like I am flying."[7]

As of 2016, Jones lived in Faulconbridge, New South Wales,[2] and was attending St Columba's High School.[3][8]

References

  1. ^ "Swimming Australia Paralympic Squad Announcement". Swimming Australia News. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Jenna Jones". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e Curtin, Jennie (28 April 2015). "Faulconbridge swimmer Jenna Jones the star of the pool". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  4. ^ Cunningham, Ilsa (14 April 2016). "Jenna Jones makes Rio Paralympics swimming team". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Aussie Paralympic swim team named". Special Broadcasting Service. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Jenna Jones". Rio Paralympics Official Results. Rio Paralympics 2016. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016.
  7. ^ Power, Julie. "Paralympics 2016: Swimmer goes for gold at Rio even though the pool is a blur". Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  8. ^ Power, Julie (3 September 2016). "Paralympics 2016: Swimmer goes for gold at Rio even though the pool is a blur". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
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