Ben Austin

Ben Austin has been compared with Ian Thorpe after winning a total of nine Paralympic medals throughout his swimming career. Ben lost his left arm from just above the elbow when he was only two weeks old, when complications following his birth forced doctors to amputate. But he has never let his disability hold him back. Ben has been swimming since the age of five, and has represented his region in able-bodied swimming events. He has also played rugby league, rugby union and water polo for his home town of Wellington, in the central west of New South Wales.
At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Ben took out the gold medal in both the 50m and 100m freestyle, setting a world record in both events. The only other Australian athletes to break world records at those Games were Ian Thorpe and the Australian cycling team. In Athens, Ben competed in the 50m and 100m freestyle, the 100m butterfly, the 200m individual medley and two relay events, winning gold and three silver medals respectively.