Annabelle Williams, OAM (born 21 July 1988) is a Paralympic swimming competitor from Australia. She has a congenital limb deficiency.[1] She appeared in Mad Max 4. Representing Australia, she has won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in the Women's 100 m Butterfly S9. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, she earned a silver medal in the Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 and a bronze in the Women's 100 m Multi Disability Freestyle. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she earned a silver in the Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 event.
 2012 Australian Paralympic Team portrait of Williams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 July 1988 Sydney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal
Annabelle Josephine Williams was born on 21 July 1988 in Sydney, New South Wales and calls Varsity Lakes, Queensland home.[2][3] As a youngster, she lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, only moving back to Australia when she was ten years old.[4] She has completed a degree in international relations and law at Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland[2][5] and named Bond University Sportsperson of the year for 2007 and was a finalist for the Australian Universities Sportsperson of the Year for 2007.[1] While attending university, she completed a six-month internship in Paris, France,[2] where she worked for the Australian Embassy.[4] After the Paralympics, she will complete an internship at the US State Department.[4]
Williams is missing the lower part of her left arm as the result of a congenital limb deficiency.[1][4] She is 168 centimetres (66 in) tall and weighs 60 kilograms (130 lb).[3] Before becoming a swimmer, she was involved with athletics but had to leave the sport because of a stress fracture.[2][4]
Williams appeared in Mad Max 4. She was chosen for the part because the producers "were looking for an athletic, blonde woman with half an arm to be the stunt double for one of Hollywood's most glamorous women."[6] The actress she was a stunt double for was Charlize Theron.[6] For the role, she had to learn Muay Thai.[6]
Swimming
Williams is an S9 swimmer[2][3][6] and is a member of the Cranbrook Eastern Edge SC.[3] Her main events are the 50 m, 100 m free, 50 m, and the 100 m fly.[3][6] In the 50 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 m freestyle is 1:03.00, a time she set at the 2009 Australian Championships.[3] Her best time in the 50 m backstroke is 44.95 set at the Sandy Bay Junior Age Medal Meet 26 March 2011. In the 100 m backstroke, her personal best is 1:50.58 set at the State Championship Qualifying on 30 October 2010.[7] In the 50 m breaststroke, her personal best time is 52.46 set at the Sandy Bay Junior Age Medal Meet on 26 March 2011. In the 100 m breaststroke, her personal best time is 2:02.75 set at the State Championship Qualifying on 30 October 2010. In the 50 m butterfly, her personal best time is 50.28 set at the Sandy Bay Junior Age Medal Meet on 26 March 2011. In the short course 25 m backstroke, her personal best time of 22.60 set at the 2010 Medley Pentathlon Sth on 24 July 2010. In the short course 50 m backstroke, her personal best time of 49.68 was set at the 2010 June 5 Hobart on 5 June 2010. In the short course 25 m breaststroke, her personal best time is 24.99, set at the 2010 Medley Pentathlon Sth on 24 July 2010. In the short course 50 m breaststroke, her personal best time is 56.99, set at the 2010 Regional Medal Meet Winter on 19 June 2010. In the short course 25 m butterfly, her personal best time is 22.43, set at the 2010 Medley Pentathlon Sth on 24 July 2010. In the short course 25 m freestyle, her personal best time is 18.16 set at the 2010 Medley Pentathlon Sth on 24 July 2010. In the short course 50 m freestyle, her personal best time is 43.54 set at the 2010 Regional Medal Meet Winter on 19 June 2010. In the short course 100 m medley, her personal best time is 1:50.80 set at the 2010 Medley Pentathlon Sth on 24 July 2010.[7]
Williams competed at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne winning a silver medal in the Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 and a bronze in the Women's 100 m Multi Disability Freestyle.[3][5][8] In 2008, she was affiliated with the Miami Swimming Club, training five days a week with coaches Denis Cotterell and Raelene Ryan.[5] During the March 2008 Olympic Trials, she broke the 50 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 m event is not one she had actively trained for, because the distance was not on the 2008 Paralympic programme.[5] At the 2008 Beijing Games, she competed in three events and won a bronze medal in the Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 event.[3][8] She participated in the World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands in 2010 but did not medal.[3] At the 2009 Pan Pacific Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the World Short Course, she earned a silver medal in the 100 m fly event.[3]
While completing her Paris internship, she trained at a local French swimming club ahead of the Commonwealth Games.[2] At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, she won a silver medal in the Women's 50 m Freestyle S9.[3][9] 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.[4] She had already qualified for the Games as one of the top-three ranked swimmers in the world in her classification.[4]
Williams trains on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland at Pizzey Park where she is coached by Denis Cotterell.[2][3]
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."[10]
References
- ^ a b c "Annabelle Williams". IOC Swimming Website. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Annabelle Williams". Australian Paralympic Committee Website. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Annabelle Williams". Australia: Swimming Australia. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Paralympians dive into Phuket". The Phuket News. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Hard work pays off for Annabelle Gold Coast Sport". goldcoast.com.au. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Jano Gibson in Delhi (5 October 2010). "Aussie Williams has stars in her eyes –". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 6 June 2012.
- ^ a b "Annabelle Williams personal bests". Swimming Western Australia. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
- ^ a b "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ^ "Commonwealth silver for Williams". Australian Paralympic Committee News, 5 October 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ^ "Australia Day honours list 2014: in full". Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
External links
- Annabelle Williams at Swimming Australia (archived)
