Peter Leek

Peter Alan Stuart Leek, OAM[1] (born 27 September 1988)[2] was an Australian swimmer with ataxic cerebral palsy, who won eight medals at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.[3]

Peter Leek
Peter Leek multiple gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Games
Personal information
Full namePeter Alan Stuart Leek
Nationality Australia
Born (1988-09-27) 27 September 1988
Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, butterfly, medley
ClassificationsS8, SB7, SM8
ClubCranbrook Eastern Edge

Early life

Leek was born in the Sydney suburb of Blacktown. He began swimming at the age of eight to aid his disability.[2] He was a member of Ripples St Marys Swimming Club for 13 years. He attended Oxley Park Public School during his primary school years, and then Colyton High School.[4]

Career

His debut in major international competition was at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships in Durban, South Africa where he won two gold, two silver and one bronze medals.[2]

At the 2008 Beijing Games in his Paralympic debut, he won three gold medals in the Men's 100 m Butterfly S8, Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM8, and Men's 4 × 100 m Medley 34 pts events, for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia,[1] four silver medals in the Men's 50 m Freestyle S8, Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle 34 pts, Men's 400 m Freestyle S8, and Men's 100 m Backstroke S8 events, and a bronze medal in the Men's 100 m Freestyle S8 event.[5] He broke four world records and four Paralympic records.[2]

He competed in the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships, held in Eindhoven, Netherlands where he won six gold medals and one silver medal.[2] Leek's medals helped Australia's national Paralympic swim team finish sixth overall.

He missed the 2010 Commonwealth Games due to glandular fever.[6] Leek did not return to the pool following this illness. Leek turned to a different passion and graduated from the University of Canberra with a Bachelor of Applied Economics. Following his graduation, Peter began working as a management consultant in health, ageing and human services at KPMG Australia. Leek considers his graduation as one of his greatest achievements.[7]

He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship recipient.[8]

Leek is also a committee member for the Friends of Brain Injured Children ACT organisation in Australia.[9]

Recognition
  • 2008 and 2009: Hawkesbury Sportsperson of the Year. Leek was the first athlete to receive the award in two consecutive years.[9]
  • 2008: Junior Athlete of the Year award from the Australian Paralympic Committee.[10]
  • 2009: Medal of the Order of Australia.[1]
  • 2009: New South Wales Disabled Athlete of the Year.[11]
  • Hawkesbury Sportsperson of the Year award in 2008 and 2009, the first athlete to have received the award in two consecutive years.[12]
  • 2009: Young Sports Achievement Award Penrith City Council.[13]
  • 2010: Swimming Australia's Multi-Class Swimmer of the Year.[14]

References
  1. "Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)". ABC News. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  2. "Peter Leek Athlete Profile". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  3. "Peter Leek Profile". IPC Swimming. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  4. Stevens, Kylie (29 September 2008). "Whirlwind trip for gold medallist Peter Leek". Penrith City Star. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  5. "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  6. "Leek to miss Commonwealth Games due to glandular fever". Swimming Australia News, 21 September 2010. Swimming Australia. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  7. Jones, Amanda (14 October 2014). "Paralympian Peter's new passion". University of Canberra. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  8. Wake 2010, p. 4
  9. "Athlete Bio". www.paralympic.org. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  10. "Cowdrey is the best of the best". Australian Paralympic Committee. 23 October 2008. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  11. "Sports briefs". St Marys - Mt Druitt Star. 3 March 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  12. Rhodes, Brendan (26 August 2009). "Our humble hero: Peter Leek wins back to back award". Hawkesbury Gazette. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  13. "Australia Day Awards". Penrith City Council Website. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  14. "Coutts leads AIS to four trophies at Swimmer of the Year Awards". =Australian Sports Commission. 23 November 2010. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.

Bibliography
  • Wake, Rebekka (September 2010). "Golden Glow Over Australian Swimming". Australian Paralympian. Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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