Annabelle Williams: Difference between revisions

| caption = 2012 Australian Paralympic Teamteam portrait of Williams

| club = Cranbrook Eastern Edge<br />Miami

Annabelle Josephine Williams was born on 21 July 1988 in Sydney, New South Wales.<ref name=swimingaus/><ref name=apcwebsite/> As a youngster, she lived in [[Jakarta]], [[Indonesia]], only moving back to Australia when she was ten years old.<ref name=bisphuket/> She has completed a degree in international relations and law at [[Bond University]], [[Gold Coast, Queensland]]<ref name=apcwebsite>{{cite web|title=Annabelle Williams|url=http://www.paralympic.org.au/team/annabelle-williams|work=Australian Paralympic Committee Website|accessdateaccess-date=14 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321001954/http://www.paralympic.org.au/team/annabelle-williams|archive-date=21 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=clubmiami/> and named Bond University Sportsperson of the year for 2007 and was a finalist for the Australian Universities Sportsperson of the Year for 2007.<ref name=ipc/> While attending university, she completed a six-month internship in Paris, France,<ref name=apcwebsite/> where she worked for the Australian Embassy.<ref name=bisphuket/> After the 2012 Paralympics, she completed an internship in Washington DC.<ref name=bisphuket/> In 2015, Williams was appointed the [[Australian Olympic Committee]]'s legal counsel.<ref>{{cite web|title=Second Bond alumnus joins Australian Olympic Committee|url=https://bond.edu.au/news/47139/second-bond-alumnus-joins-australian-olympic-committee|website=Bond University News, 10 September 2015|accessdateaccess-date=10 September 2015}}</ref>

Williams is missing the lower part of her left arm as the result of a congenital limb deficiency.<ref name=ipc>{{cite web|title=Annabelle Williams|url=http://ipc.infostradasports.com/asp/lib/TheASP.asp?pageid=8937&sportid=-1&personid=606033|work=IOC Swimming Website|publisher=International Paralympic Committee|accessdateaccess-date=14 March 2012|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235413/http://ipc.infostradasports.com/asp/lib/TheASP.asp?pageid=8937&sportid=-1&personid=606033|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=bisphuket/> She is {{convert|168|cm}} tall and weighs {{convert|60|kg}}.<ref name=swimingaus/> Before becoming a swimmer, she was involved with athletics but had to leave the sport because of a [[stress fracture]].<ref name=apcwebsite/><ref name=bisphuket/>

Williams is an [[S9 (classification)|S9]] swimmer<ref name=swimingaus/><ref name=apcwebsite/><ref name=acting>{{cite web|author=Jano Gibson in Delhi |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-10-05/aussie-williams-has-stars-in-her-eyes/2284992 |title=Aussie Williams has stars in her eyes – |publisher=ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |date=5 October 2010 |accessdateaccess-date=6 June 2012}}</ref> and was a member of the [[Cranbrook Eastern Edge SC]].<ref name=swimingaus/> Her main events are the 50&nbsp;m, 100&nbsp;m free, 50&nbsp;m, and the 100&nbsp;m fly.<ref name=swimingaus/><ref name=acting/> In the 50&nbsp;m freestyle event, her best time is 29.42 seconds, a time she set at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Her personal best in the 100&nbsp;m freestyle is 1:03.00, a time she set at the 2009 Australian Championships.<ref name=swimingaus/>

Williams competed at the [[Aquatics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne]] winning a silver medal in the Women's 50&nbsp;m Freestyle S9 and a bronze in the Women's 100&nbsp;m Multi Disability Freestyle.<ref name=swimingaus/><ref name=clubmiami/><ref name=IPC-AUS/> In 2008, she was affiliated with the Miami Swimming Club, training five days a week with coaches Denis Cotterell and Raelene Ryan.<ref name=clubmiami>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2008/03/28/9410_gold-coast-sport.html |title=Hard work pays off for Annabelle Gold Coast Sport |publisher=goldcoast.com.au |date=28 March 2008 |accessdateaccess-date=6 June 2012}}</ref> During the March 2008 Olympic Trials, she broke the 50&nbsp;m butterfly world record in the morning during a semi-final and then broke it again in the evening during the event final. The 50&nbsp;m event is not one she had actively trained for, because the distance was not on the 2008 Paralympic programme.<ref name=clubmiami/> At the [[2008 Summer Paralympics|2008 Beijing Games]], she competed in three events and won a bronze medal in the Women's 100&nbsp;m Butterfly S9 event.<ref name=swimingaus/><ref name=IPC-AUS>{{cite web|title=Athlete Search Results|url=http://www.paralympic.org/Sport/Results/search.html?npc=AUS&gender=all&medal=medals&sport=all&games=2008PG|publisher=International Paralympic Committee|accessdateaccess-date=5 October 2011}}</ref> She participated in the World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands in 2010 but did not medal.<ref name=swimingaus/> At the 2009 Pan Pacific Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the World Short Course, she earned a silver medal in the 100&nbsp;m fly event.<ref name=swimingaus/>

While completing her Paris internship, she trained at a local French swimming club ahead of the Commonwealth Games.<ref name=apcwebsite/> At the [[Swimming at the 2010 Commonwealth Games|2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi]], she won a silver medal in the Women's 50&nbsp;m Freestyle S9.<ref name=swimingaus/><ref name=cmomomnwealth>{{cite web|title=Commonwealth silver for Williams|url=http://www.paralympic.org.au/news/commonwealth-silver-williams|work=Australian Paralympic Committee News, 5 October 2010|accessdateaccess-date=14 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503001538/http://www.paralympic.org.au/news/commonwealth-silver-williams|archive-date=3 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> In preparation for the [[2012 Summer Paralympics]], she was one of 14 Australian Paralympic swimmers to participate in a training camp start on 13 May 2012 and ending 29 May at British International School Phuket.<ref name=bisphuket>{{cite web|url=http://www.thephuketnews.com/paralympians-dive-into-phuket-30844.php |title=Paralympians dive into Phuket |publisher=The Phuket News |date=14 May 2012 |accessdateaccess-date=6 June 2012}}</ref> At the 2000 Games, she finished sixth in the Women's 50m Freestyle S9, seventh in the Women's 100m Freestyle S9 and was a member of the team that the gold medal in the Women's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay 34 Points.<ref>{{cite web|title=Annabelle Williams|url=http://www.paralympic.org/athletes/biographies|website=International Paralymoic Committee Swimming Athlete Profiles|accessdateaccess-date=10 September 2015}}</ref> In the lead up to the Games, Williams trained on the Gold Coast in Queensland at [[Pizzey Park]] where she was coached by [[Denis Cotterell]].<ref name=swimingaus/><ref name=apcwebsite/>

She was awarded an [[Order of Australia Medal]] in the 2014 [[Australia Day Honours]] "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."<ref name="oam">{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/australia-day-honours-list-2014-in-full/story-fni0cx12-1226808786064|title=Australia Day honours list 2014: in full |date=26 January 2014 |accessdateaccess-date=26 January 2014}}</ref>

[[Category:Female Paralympic swimmers offor Australia]]

[[Category:S9-classified Paralympicpara swimmers]]