Heather Frederiksen

Infobox Swimmer
swimmername = Heather Frederiksen


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fullname = Heather Frederiksen
nationality = British
strokes =
club = City of Salford
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birthdate = birth date and age|1985|12|30|df=yes
birthplace = Billinge, Wigan, Englandcite web |title=Athlete Biography FREDERIKSEN Heather |publisher=The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games |url=http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/BIO/Athlete/9/1206719.shtml |accessdate=2008-09-23]
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height = height|m=1.78
weight = convert|69|kg|lb st|abbr=oncite web |url=http://www.britishswimming.org/vsite/vcontent/page/custom/0,8510,5157-191208-208431-45512-287942-custom-item,00.html |title=British Swimming and the asa: Heather Frederiksen |accessdate=2008-09-23 |publisher=British Swimming]
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Heather Frederiksen (born 30 December, 1985, in Billinge, England) is a British swimmer. She competed at the 2008 Paralympics where she won four medals.

Injury

At the end of 2004 Frederiksen suffered a serious accident that left her with limited use of her right arm and leg, and the need to use a wheelchair. Her doctors told her she would never swim again, and when she tried she found herself swimming in circles. [cite web |title=Gold and world record for Frederiksen |date=208-09 |publisher= Website of the British Paralympic Association |url=http://www.paralympics.org.uk/show_news.asp?itemid=2323&itemTitle=Gold+and+world+record+for+Frederiksen&section=000100010006&sectionTitle=News |accessdate=2009-09-23]

It was in 2006, whilst watching television coverage of the swimming events at the Commonwealth Games, in Melbourne, that Frederiksen decided she wanted to swim again. After her Paralympic success she said of the experience, "I saw Joanne Jackson win the gold in the 400 m and I just said to myself, 'I’m not ready to finish. I’ll finish when I want to finish, not when someone else tells me to’"—she had previously competed against Jackson.

Career

In 2004, prior to her accident, Frederiksen won both the British 10 km Open Water Championship and 4.5 km British Grand Prix on the same day.cite web |title=Heather Frederiksen proves the doctors wrong with gold medal in Beijing |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |date=2008-09-11 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/paralympicsport/2779101/Heather-Frederiksen-proves-the-doctors-wrong-with-gold-medal-in-Beijing---Paralympics.html |accessdate=2008-09-23]

Frederiksen now competes in the S8 (backstroke and freestyle), SB7 (breaststroke) and SM8 (medley) classifications. Her first senior swim meet came at the 2007 German Open, in Berlin. [cite web |title=A-Z of Paralympic classification |publisher=BBC Sport |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/7586684.stm |accessdate=2008-09-23]

In her first appearance at the British Championships in 2008 Frederiksen won two gold and two silver medals from her six events and set a number of national records. At the 2008 Summer Paralympics, in Beijing, she competed in five events and won four medals. [cite web |title=Medallists GBR - Great Britain |publisher=The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games |url=http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/INF/GL/92A/GBR_T.shtml |accessdate=2008-09-23] Her first medal, a silver in the women's 100 m freestyle - S8 final on 8 September, was followed two days later by gold in the women's 100 m backstroke - S8 in a new IPC world record time of one minute 16.74 seconds. [cite web |title=Frederiksen leads swimming charge |publisher=BBC Sport |date=2008-09-10 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/7607912.stm |accessdate=2008-09-23] A bronze medal was won by Frederiksen in the 200 m individual medley and her final medal of the games came with a silver in the 400 m freestyle. In her final event, the 50 m freestyle, she reached the final but finished in 7th position. In all three races where Frederikson won silver or bronze medals it was American Jessica Long who won the gold medal. [cite web |title=Athlete Biography LONG Jessica |publisher=The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games |url=http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/BIO/Athlete/1/1200871.shtml |accessdate=2008-09-23]

In addition to her 100 m backstroke world record Frederikson is the current holder of the European records in the 400 m freestyle and 100 m butterfly S8 classifications, and holds the British record in a total of six different events.

ee also

*List of IPC world records in swimming
*List of Paralympic records in swimming
*Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
*Swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

References