Timothy Hodge (born 31 January 2001)[1] is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where he won two silver and one bronze medals.[2][3]

Timothy Hodge

2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait
Personal information
Full name	Timothy Hodge
Nationality	Australian
Born	(2001-01-31) 31 January 2001 (age 21) Blacktown, New South Wales
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Classifications	S9
Club	Auburn Swimming CLub
Coach	Clinton Camilleri
Medal record Men's Paralympic swimming Representing  Australia Paralympic Games 2020 Tokyo 200 m ind. medley SM9 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m medley 34 pts 2020 Tokyo 100 m backstroke S9 World Championships 2022 Madeira 200 m ind. medley S9 2022 Madeira Mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay 34 pts 2019 London 100 m Backstroke S9 2019 London 200m ind. medley SM9 2022 Madeira 100 m backstroke S9 Commonwealth Games 2022 Birmingham 100m backstroke S9 2018 Gold Coast 100m breaststroke SB7 2022 Birmingham 100m breaststroke SB8

Personal

Hodge was born on 31 January 2001 in Blacktown, New South Wales.[4] He lost his right foot when he was four[5] due to lower-leg deficiency. In addition, he is missing two fingers on his right hand and his right arm is shorter than his left.[6] He attended Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown.[7] As of 2021^[update], he is studying electrical engineering at university.

Career

Hodge swims in the S9 classification (SB8).[1] Hodge competed at the 2015 IPC World Championships in Glasgow,[8][9] where, at 14 years, he was the second youngest member of the Australian team.[9] Hodge set his best individual time in 100m Backstroke (S9) finishing 8th.[1]

At the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, Hodge competed in five events. He placed fifth in the Men's 200m Individual Medley SM9 and sixth in the Men's 100m Backstroke S9. He didn't progress to the finals in Men's 100m Butterfly SB9, Men's 400m Freestyle S9 and Men's 100m Freestyle S9.[10]

Hodge had succeeded in his aim to compete at the Paralympics, whether at Rio or Tokyo. He said, "If I can just push myself hard and get to the Paralympics, that’d be the greatest thing."[11] He is a member of the Auburn Swimming Club in Sydney and is coached by Clinton Camilleri.[6]

Hodge won a silver medal in the 100m Breaststroke SB7 in the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Queensland, where he swam his personal best thus far.

At the 2019 Australian Swimming Championships, Hodge set a new world record to take gold in the Men’s 50m Backstroke Multi-Class race.[12]

At the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London, Hodge won bronze medals in the Men's 100m Backstroke S9 and Men's 200m Individual Medley SM9.[13]

At the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Hodge won a silver medal in the Men's 200 m individual medley SM9 with a time of 2:15.42. In the Men's 4x100m Medley 34 pts, he swam together with Timothy Disken, Ben Popham, and William Martin. His team won the silver medal in a time of 4:07.70, just over a second behind the winners, RPC, who set a new world record. Hodge also won a bronze medal in the Men's 100 m backstroke S9 with a time of 1:02.16.[14]

At the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships, Madeira, Hodge won three medals - gold in the Men's 200m Individual Medley SM9 and Mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay S14 and bronze in the Men's 100m Backstroke S9 [15]

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Hodge won the gold medal in the Men's 100m Backstroke S9 and silver medal in the Men's 100 Breaststroke SB8.[16] [17]

Recognition

• 2011 – Young Citizen of the Year in Blacktown, NSW, Australia.[4]
• 2018 – Sport NSW Young Athlete of the Year with a Disability [18]
• 2019 – Sportsperson of the Year at the Blacktown City Sports Awards[19]
• 2021 – Sport NSW Young Athlete of the Year with a Disability supported by Variety, the Children's Charity NSW/ACT[20]

References

External links

• Timothy Hodge at Swimming Australia
• Timothy Hodge at Paralympics Australia
• Timothy Hodge at the International Paralympic Committee
• Timothy Hodge at IPC.InfostradaSports.com