David Roberts (swimmer)

David Roberts

Medal record
Men's Swimming
Representing the United Kingdom
Paralympic Games
	2000 Sydney	50 m freestyle S7
	2000 Sydney	100 m freestyle S7
	2000 Sydney	4×100 m freestyle 34 pts
	2004 Athens	50 m freestyle S7
	2004 Athens	100 m freestyle S7
	2004 Athens	400 m freestyle S7
	2004 Athens	4×100 m freestyle 34 pts
	2008 Beijing	100 m freestyle S7
	2008 Beijing	4×100 m freestyle 34 pts
	2008 Beijing	400 m freestyle S7
	2008 Beijing	50 m freestyle S7
	2000 Sydney	100 m backstroke S7
	2000 Sydney	400 m freestyle S7
	2000 Sydney	4×100 m medley 34 pts
	2004 Athens	200 m indiv. medley SM7
	2000 Sydney	4×50 m freestyle 20 pts

David Roberts, born 25 May, 1980 in Llantwit Fardre, Wales, is a British (Welsh) swimmer and eleven-time Paralympic gold medallist. He is one of Great Britain's most successful Paralympians ever.

Roberts went to Llwyncrwn Primary School and moved on to Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School in his teens. He currently lives in Cardiff. He is a professional disabled swimmer who represents Swim Swansea, Wales and Great Britain. He trains at the Swansea High Performance Centre at the Wales National Pool in Swansea. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age eleven and was encouraged to participate in swimming activities as a form of physical therapy. His International Paralympic Committee (IPC) swimming category is S7 SB7 SM7.

His first represented Wales in competition in Glasgow in 1993. His first major competition for Great Britain was at the 1999 European Disabled swimming Championships in Braunschweig, Germany where he won all four of his races. He competed in his first Paralympic Games in Sydney in the summer of 2000. Here he won an impressive haul of seven medals.

At the 2001 European Disabled Swimming Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, David won five gold medals including a clean sweep of the S7 50 m, 100 m and 400 m freestyle events.

The Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games saw Elite Athletes with Disabilities (EAD) competing alongside able-bodied athletes at a major competition for the first time. David was the only disabled swimmer from Great Britain to win a medal, taking the bronze in the men’s multi disability 100 m freestyle.

Roberts won his first IPC World Swimming Championship medals in Mar Del Plata, Argentina in December 2002. He won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

His second experience of Paralympic action came at the Athens 2004 Summer Paralympics. Here David won four golds and one silver. His medals came in the following events:

• Men's 50 m freestyle S7 - Gold
• Men's 100 m freestyle S7 - Gold
• Men's 400 m freestyle S7 - Gold
• Men's 200 m individual medley SM7 - Silver
• Men's 4x100 m freestyle relay 34 pts - Gold

His achievements at the 2000 and 2004 Paralympics, alongside his previous successes for Great Britain, earned David an MBE for his services to disabled sport in the Queen’s New Years Honours. He received his award from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in March 2005. He also made it onto the shortlist of the 2004 BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year Award which was won by Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson.

David retained his Commonwealth Games men’s multi disability 100 m freestyle bronze medal at the 2006 event held in Melbourne, Australia. At the 2006 IPC World Swimming Championships, held in Durban, South Africa, he won four gold, 1 silver and a bronze. Included in the medal haul was another clean sweep in the S7 freestyle events.

The first half of 2008 saw David set new world records for the S7 50 m, 100 m, 200 m and 400 m freestyle events in the space of six weeks. He retained his S7 50 m freestyle World record off Great Britain rival Matthew Walker in April at the British Swimming Championships in Sheffield setting a new time of 27.67. At the same event he lowered his S7 100 m freestyle world record to a new time of 1:00.34.

He set a new S7 200 m world record of 2:18.86 at the German Open Championships in May 2008. For the first time in his career he finally took the S7 400 m freestyle world record, which had been held by Dean Booth from New Zealand for eight years previously, at the British International Swimming Championships held in Sheffield in April, recording a time of 4:49.12.

He achieved selection for his third consecutive Paralympics in May 2008 by being named as part of the squad to attend the Beijing Paralympics.

See also

List of IPC world records in swimming