Marayke Jonkers

Marayke Jonkers is the oldest and longest serving female in the Australian Paralympic swimming squad and is a role model to all those around her.

Marayke has held the world record for the 100m butterfly and has broken more than 60 Australian records in breaststroke, individual medley, freestyle and butterfly.

When she was eight months old, she was involved in a car accident, leaving her paraplegic. By age two, she could swim across the pool unaided and by the age of 12 she was representing Queensland and then Australia. In 2004, Marayke reached her Paralympic dreams, winning bronze medals in the 50m breaststroke and the 150m IM. That same year she was awarded the Queensland Young Achiever of the Year award.

Also in 2004, she graduated from university with a bachelor of social science and in 2006 she completed a second degree in communications and received a dean’s commendation for academic excellence.

The motto ‘dive into life and make a splash’ drives Marayke and in 2007 she was named Cosmopolitan magazine’s Fun, Fearless Female of the Year.