Blake Cochrane

Blake Cochrane
2012 Australian Paralympic Team portrait of Cochrane
Personal information
Full name Blake Cochrane
Nickname(s) Beej
Nationality Australian
Born (1991-01-25) 25 January 1991
Charleville, Queensland, Australia
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes breaststroke, freestyle
Classifications S8, SB7, SM8
Club USC Spartans
Coach Nathan Doyle
Cochrane at the 2012 London Paralympics

Blake Cochrane, OAM (born 25 January 1991) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He won two gold medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics where he won a silver medal.[1]

Personal

Blake John Cochrane born on 25 January 1991. Cochrane's character is such that he has turned physical adversity into a strength. He has achievements in both academics and sports, but it is the latter that marks his strength of character and competitive nature. He commenced soccer at the age of five and played for over 10 years as a striker and later in the position as goalie winning club recognition of his skills. In high school, he played various sports including representing the Southern Cross Catholic College on a Gaelic Football sports tour to Ireland. He developed an interest in scuba-diving as well as snow skiing—he has a strong interest in both team and individual sports across the board.

However swimming has always been a part of his life. His natural ability was recognised early when regularly winning races at various school and club level swim meets. Early school based achievements include:

  • Vice-Captain – Southern Cross Catholic College 2008 (Responsibility for Culture and various public speaking roles)
  • Recipient – Pierre de Coubertin Award 2008
  • Lions Youth of the Year Quest 2008 Award (Redcliffe District)
  • Westpac Special Achievement Award "School's Best Standardised Score" Mathematics 2003, Australian Mathematics Trust Competition
  • Westpac Special Achievement Award Certificate of Distinction 2004, Australian Mathematics Trust Competition
  • 2008 SCCC Caltex All Rounder Medallion Middle and Senior Years
  • 2008 SCCC Outstanding Contribution to 'Living the Mission' Award
  • 2008 Certificate of Distinction – Year 12 Senior Division, Australian Mathematics Competition, Australian Mathematics Trust.

Cochrane is in process of completing a Bachelor in Exercise and Clinical Science but has deferred his study for 2012 in order to train full-time for the London 2012 Paralympics. He is a member of an elite swimming squad training out of the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Swimming

It was not until his selection by Swimming Australia as an AWD (Athlete with a Disability) team competitor at the Arafura Games in Darwin, 2007, that his potential was realised. Some early sport focused achievements include:

  • Qld representative, Queensland School Sport Australia, 2006, 2007 and 2008
  • Excellence Award for Sport Southern Cross Catholic College 2007
  • Peninsula Power Soccer Club, "Most Competitive Goalie of the Season" 2007
  • Club Captain 2007/8 – Southern Cross Saints Swimming Club
  • May/June 2007 Quest Community Newspapers Young Star Award Nominee
  • Australian Age Record, 50m Freestyle 16yrs/S8, 16/12/07, Qld Swimming Championships, Chandler, Swimming Australia
  • May/June 2008 Quest Community Newspapers Young Star Award Winner
  • Qld Games Record, 200m Individual Medley 17yrs/SM8, 2008 AWD Swimming State Championships, Chandler 1/3/08 (Sporting Wheelies & Disabled Association)
  • Qld Games Record, 50m Breaststroke 17yrs/SB8, 2008 AWD Swimming State Championships, Chandler 1/3/08 (Sporting Wheelies & Disabled Association)
  • Qld Games Record, 200m Individual Medley 17yrs/SM8, 2008 AWD Swimming State Championships, Chandler 1/3/08 (Sporting Wheelies & Disabled Association)
  • Qld Games Record, 100m Breaststroke 17yrs/SB8, 2008 AWD Swimming State Championships, Chandler 1/3/08 (Sporting Wheelies & Disabled Association)
  • Qld Games Record, 100m Freestyle 17yrs/S8, 2008 AWD Swimming State Championships, Chandler 1/3/08 (Sporting Wheelies & Disabled Association)
  • 3rd Place, Roy Fowler Male Swimmer of the Meet, 2008 AWD Swimming State Championships (Sporting Wheelies & Disabled Association)
  • Australian Short Course Record, 200m Backstroke S8, Canberra 25/4/08, Swimming Australia
  • Australian Age Record, 50m Freestyle 17yrs/S8, Sydney 23/3/08, Swimming Australia
  • Australian Age Record, 50m Freestyle 17yrs/S8, Brisbane 10/2/08, Swimming Australia
  • 2008 SCCC Sportsmanship Award – Chantelle Cramb Futsal Tournament
  • 2008 SCCC 17 Years Boys Swimming – School Age Champion Award
  • 2008 SCCC Geoff Huegill Award – School Swimming
  • 2008 SCCC Sunshine Coast Regional Representative Award – School Swimming
  • 2008 SCCC Queensland Representative Award – Swimming
  • 2008 SCCC Senior Sportsman of the Year Award

Cochrane went on to win a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 event.[2]

After Beijing 2008, Cochrane continued to perform strongly in the pool. He was one of the stars of the 2009 World Short Course Championships, winning two gold medals and one silver. He has been honoured with Blue awards by both University of Queensland, 2010 and the University of the Sunshine Coast, 2011. He blitzed the field at the 2011 Para Pan Pacific Championships in Canada, winning five gold medals and breaking the world record in the 100m breaststroke. 2010 was an especially prolific year for Blake as he won gold in the 100m breaststroke at the World Championships, before snaring a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. In 2011 he won Swimming Australia’s Swimmer with a Disability of the Year Award. During the 2012 Australian Swimming Nationals he again set a new world record in the 100m breaststroke (SB8) final. Competing at the 2012 London Games, he competed in five events and won two gold medals in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 and Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle 34 points.[3]

At the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, he broke the world record in winning the gold medal in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7.[4]

Competing at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, he won the silver medal in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 and a bronze medal in the Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points.[5][6] He finished fourth in Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay 34pts, fifth in the Men's 50m Freestyle S8 and Men's 100m Freestyle S8.[7]

In 2015, he was coached by Jan Cameron at the University of the Sunshine Coast.[8]

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won the silver medal in Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7.[9] He also competed in Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle (34 points) and finished fifth, seventh in Men's 400m Freestyle S8 but didn't progress to the finals in Men's 50m Freestyle S8 and Men's 100m Freestyle S8.[9]

In preparation for Rio, Cochrane coaches states “Blake never thought he had any disability ... and never looked back.”[10]

Recognition

In 2011, he was a nominee for The Age's Sport Performer Award in the Performer with a Disability category.[11] He has been awarded the 'Graham Sherman Sunshine Coast Senior Sports Star of the Year' for 2013. He 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."[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Swimming Australia Paralympic Squad Announcement". Swimming Australia News. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "Blake Cochrane". International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "A world record and more gold medals for Australia in Montreal". Swimming Australia News. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "World record for 13-year-old Tiffany Thomas-Kane as Dolphins light up the pool in Glasgow 15 July". Swimming Australia News, 15 July 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Aussies unite for a nail biting bronze medal win in the men's relay". Swimming Australia News, 18 July 2015. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Blake Cochrane results". Glasgow 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Jan Cameron joins elite coaching group with Platinum recognition". Swimming Australia website. 19 November 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Blake Coachrane". Rio Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Mason, Jamie-Leigh. "Paralympian Blake Cochrane heading into third Paralympic Games with everything to prove". Rio Paralympics. Quest Community News. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "2011 Nominees". Melbourne, Victoria: Sport Performer Awards. 2011. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  12. ↑ "Australia Day honours list 2014: in full". Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.

Further reading

  • Wake, Rebekka (September 2010). "Golden Glow Over Australian Swimmers". Australian Paralympian. Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2.
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