Matt Levy Explained

Matt Levy
Fullname:Matthew John Levy
Nationality:Australian
Classification:S7
Strokes:Freestyle, butterfly, medley
Club:North Sydney Swimming Club
Coach:Steve Badger
Birth Date:11 January 1987
Birth Place:Sydney, New South Wales

Matthew John Levy, (born 11 January 1987) is a retired Australian Paralympic swimmer. At five Paralympic Games from 2004 to 2020, he has won three gold, one silver and six bronze medals.

Personal

Levy has cerebral palsy and a vision impairment due to being born 15 weeks premature. He attended St Andrew's Cathedral School in Sydney.[1] He works at Westpac Bank, is on the board of directors of the New South Wales disability organisation Ability Options, and lives in Sydney.[2] [3]

He completed a Bachelor of Business at Swinburne University of Technology in 2015 and a Master of Business Administration at the University of Canberra in 2021.[4] In 2020, he released a memoir/self-help book, Keeping Your Head Above Water: Inspirational Insights From a Champion.[5]

Competitive career

Levy is classified as an S7 swimmer.[2] Levy first competed for Australia in 2003; that year, he broke the 200 m freestyle short course world record.[2] He competed but did not win any medals at the 2004 Athens Games.[6] He competed at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships and won four silver and four bronze medals at the 2007 Telstra Short Course Championships.[2] At the 2008 Beijing Games, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 m medley relay 34 pts event.[6] At the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay event, two silver medals in the 100 m breaststroke and 100 m freestyle events, and two bronze medals in the 50 m butterfly and 200 m individual medley events.

At the 2012 London Paralympics he won five medals: a gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay, a silver medal in the 100 m freestyle S7, and three bronze medals in the 200 m individual medley SM7, 100 m breaststroke SB7 and 4×100 m medley relay.[6] He also participated in the 400 m freestyle S7, 50 m butterfly S7 and 50 m freestyle S7 events.[6]

Competing at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, he won two gold medals in the 200 m individual medley S7 and 4×100 m freestyle relay and a silver medal in the 100 m freestyle S7.[7] [8]

At the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships, he won silver medals in the Men's 100 m freestyle S7 and 200 m medley SM7 and bronze medals in the Men's 50 m freestyle S7 and Men's 4×100 m freestyle relay 34 points.[9] [10] [11] [12] He finished fourth in the men's 100 m breaststroke SB7, men's 50 m butterfly S7 and men's 4 × 100 m medley relay 34pts.[13]

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won the bronze medal in the Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM7. He placed fourth in the Men's 50 m Freestyle S7 and Men's 100 m Freestyle S7, fifth in the Men's 50 m Butterfly S7, fourth in the Men's 4×100 m Medley Relay (34 points) and fifth in the Men's 4×100 m Freestyle (34 Points).[14]

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, he won gold in the Men's 50m Freestyle (S7).

At the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London, he came third (winning the bronze medal) in the Men's Freestyle (34 points), came fourth in the Men's Medley (34 points), fifth in the Men's 200m Individual Medley (SM7) and Men's 100m Freestyle (S7), sixth in the Men's 400m Freestyle (S7) and seventh in the Men's 100m Breaststroke (SB6) (Oceania Record).[15]

, he is a New South Wales Institute of Sport scholarship holder.[16]

At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Levy won gold in the Men's freestyle 34 pts, along with Rowan Crothers, William Martin and Ben Popham, breaking the current World Record by almost 2 seconds.[17] He also won a bronze medal in the Men's 100 m breaststroke SB6.[18] [19]

Levy won two medals – gold in the Mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay 34 pts and bronze in the Men's 50 m Freestyle S7 at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships, Madeira.[20]

He competed at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where he won the gold medal in the Men's 50 m Freestyle S7. He announced his retirement from swimming at the games.[21]

Recognition

Levy was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."[22] In 2015, he was named Athlete of the Year with a Disability at the New South Wales Sport Awards.[23] In October 2018, he was named Swimming Australia's Paralympic Program Swimmer of the Year.[24] In November 2021, he received a New South Wales Institute of Sport Academic Excellence Award.[25] He was named the 2021 Sport NSW Athlete of the Year with a Disability.[26] In November 2023, Levy was inducted into the University of Canberra Sports Walk of Fame.[27]

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Water Boys: St Andrew's Victories Make a Splash. Laura. Bannister. St Andrew's Cathedral School. 7 September 2009. 2 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20091009230545/http://www.sacs.nsw.edu.au/news/water_boys_st_andrew_s_victories_make_a_splash. 9 October 2009. dead.
  2. Web site: Matt Levy. Australian Paralympic Committee. 16 April 2016. 4 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190404195903/https://www.paralympic.org.au/athlete/matt-levy/. live.
  3. News: Our board. 20 December 2017 . Ability Options. 28 August 2021.
  4. Web site: Matt Levy. LinkedIn. 21 June 2021.
  5. Book: Keeping Your Head Above Water: Inspirational Insights From a Champion. Celebrity Publishers. 2020. 978-1922093219.
  6. Web site: Athlete Search Results. International Paralympic Committee. 16 April 2016. 24 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160424102519/https://www.paralympic.org/ipc_results/search.php?sport=all&games=all&medal=all&npc=aus&name=Levy&fname=&gender=m. live.
  7. Web site: Men's relay team back it up in Montreal . Swimming Australia News . 16 August 2013 . 16 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150312132320/https://vicentre.swimming.org.au/article.php?group_id=14261&id=2. 12 March 2015. dead .
  8. Web site: Twenty-seven medals for the Australian swim team in Montreal . Swimming Australia News . 19 August 2013 . 20 August 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110221422/http://www.swimming.org.au/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=NewsItem&NewsID=38220 . 10 November 2013 .
  9. Web site: Ellie's world record double in golden start for Dolphins in Glasgow . Swimming Australia News . 14 July 2015 . 14 July 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150714080307/http://www.swimming.org.au/article.php?group_id=76618&id=2 . 14 July 2015 .
  10. Web site: Six golds and one world record for Ukraine at Glasgow 2015. International Paralympic Committee News. 16 July 2015. 16 July 2015. 17 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150717194719/http://www.paralympic.org/news/six-golds-and-one-world-record-ukraine-glasgow-2015. live.
  11. Web site: Aussies unite for a nail biting bronze medal win in the men's relay . Swimming Australia News . 18 July 2015 . 18 July 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150721093720/http://www.swimming.org.au/article.php?group_id=77051&id=2 . 21 July 2015 .
  12. Web site: Seven golds in seven days for Dias at Glasgow 2015. International Paralympic Committee News. 19 July 2015. 20 July 2015. 4 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150804034055/http://www.paralympic.org/news/seven-golds-seven-days-dias-glasgow-2015. live.
  13. Web site: Matthew Levy results. Glasgow 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships. 21 July 2015. 22 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150922175755/http://www.paralympic.org/glasgow-2015/schedule-results. live.
  14. Web site: Matthew Levy. Rio Paralympics Official site. 14 September 2016. 22 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160922203001/https://www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics/athlete/matthew-levy. live.
  15. Web site: Matthew Levy. 3 December 2021. Swimming Australia.
  16. Web site: 2015 swimming scholarships. New South Wales Institute of Sport website. 16 April 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304145648/http://www.nswis.com.au/assets/documents/Scholarship%20Holders%20-%20Swimming%20July%202015.pdf. 4 March 2016.
  17. Web site: Men's Relay Team Smash World Record to Capture Gold Swimming Australia . 2022-07-11 . www.swimming.org.au.
  18. Web site: Tokyo Paralympics updates: Steelers miss out on third straight wheelchair rugby gold, Australia wins five more swimming medals. ABC News. 28 August 2021. 28 August 2021.
  19. Web site: Men's Relay Team Smash World Record to Capture Gold. Swimming Australia. 30 August 2021. 31 August 2021.
  20. Web site: Grant Patterson . 27 June 2022 . 2022 World Para Swimming Championships.
  21. Web site: Commonwealth Games 2022 LIVE updates: Day 4, Results, medals, schedule, how to watch, sports, countries. The Age. 2 August 2022. Billie. Eder. Tom. Decent. Caden. Helmers. 2 August 2022.
  22. News: . Australia Day honours list 2014: in full . 26 January 2014 . 26 January 2014 . 22 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140622025403/http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/australia-day-honours-list-2014-in-full/story-fni0cx12-1226808786064 . live .
  23. Web site: LEVY Matt. International Paralympic Committee. 16 April 2016. 24 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160424102530/https://www.paralympic.org/asp/lib/theasp.asp?pageid=8937&sportid=514&personid=689701&refreshauto=1. live.
  24. Web site: Australian Swimming stars in and out of the water celebrated . Swimming Australia website . 28 October 2018 . 31 October 2018 . 1 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181101021156/https://www.swimming.org.au/NewsCentral/(20).aspx . live .
  25. Web site: 25 November 2021. Congratulations to Matthew Levy OAM on taking out the 2021 NSWIS Awards Academic Excellence Award/. 26 November 2021. NSW Institute of Sport.
  26. Web site: 24 January 2021. Tokyo Games Gold Medallists Headline Award Recipient. 25 January 2021. Sport NSW.
  27. Web site: 2023-11-17 . Paralympic champion headlines new members of Canberra Walk of Fame . 2023-11-19 . The Canberra Times . en-AU.

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