Sharath Gayakwad ends campaign in London on a personal high

London, September 5 2012: India's only swimmer at the Paralympic Games, Sharath Gayakwad, ended his campaign with yet another personal best. Participating in the qualifying event for the 200m Individual Medley, his fourth and final race of London 2012, Sharath completed the distance in a time of 2:38.17, 2 seconds better than his previous best and Olympic Qualification timing of 2:40.47, finishing 14th overall.

The Paralympic Games has proven to be an excellent platform for Sharath, where he set new personal best records in all four events he competed in, having finished the 100m butterfly event in 1:07.12, 5 seconds quicker than his previous best, finishing his 100m breaststroke in 1:18.20, 2 seconds faster than his qualification time and finishing the 50m freestyle event in 28.98s, half a second faster than his previous best. Happy with his performance, this young 21-year-old believes the best is yet to come.   

Sharath's talent was spotted at the tender age of 9 by his coach John Christopher, who has since transformed him from a casual swimmer to an Olympian. With support from GoSports Foundation under the PACE Scholarships Programme, Sharath, in the month of June, underwent a high-performance training programme with renowned coach Mel Tantrum at the University of Western Australia. Sharath says, "A medal at the Games would have made me happier, but I am proud that I was able to achieve personal best timings in all the events, and I dedicate my performance in London to all my coaches." 

Press release

Sharath Gayakwad sets yet another personal best in London

London, September 3, 2012:Sharath Gayakwad, India's only swimmer at the Paralympic Games in London, was in action today in the qualifying event for the 50m freestyle. Swimming in lane number 8 and in a heat that saw a new world record being set, Sharath completed the event with a personal best time of 28.98s. Though he shaved off half a second from his Olympic qualification time, he missed out on qualifying for the finals.  

Swimming at his third event at the games, Sharath has set his new personal best records in all three events he has competed in so far, having finished the 100m butterfly event in 1:07.12s, 5 seconds quicker than his previous best and finishing his 100m breaststroke race 2 seconds faster than his qualification time.

With support from GoSports Foundation under the PACE Scholarships Programme, Sharath honed his skills under the renowned Australian coach Mel Tantrum before heading to London. With help from Mel - Western Australia's Best Coach of the year for swimming in 2009 - Sharath has shown tremendous improvement in his performances at the Paralympic Games.

Sharath will compete in his final event - the 200m Individual Medley on September 5.

GoSports Foundation Press release