Thomas Gallagher

Started: He competed in surf lifesaving when he was younger and moved from Western Australia to Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, to train in the sport. He switched to competitive Para swimming in 2020. (dailytelegraph.com.au, 02 Sep 2021; speedo.com.au, 01 Apr 2020) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (paralympic.org.au, 28 Jul 2023) Additional Info: CHANGING SPORT He competed in surf lifesaving when he was younger. In November 2020 he fractured his jaw while training in the sport, which prompted him to switch to Para swimming. He went on to compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo and won bronze in the men's S10 400m freestyle. "The transition from the surf club to swimming was pretty immediate and spontaneous, but I suppose I was always thinking about doing the Para side of swimming because I've always enjoyed the swim leg. The [2020 Paralympic Games] delay [due to the COVID-19 pandemic] worked quite well for me, because otherwise there was no way I was going to be able to transition in time. I suppose in the Paras, everyone is on an equal playing field. To just do the swimming these days, it's definitely easier on the body. There's a lot less injury and it's easier for me to recover. There's a lot less danger in swimming, compared to the ocean." (theguardian.com, 02 Sep 2021; dailytelegraph.com.au, 02 Sep 2021; northernbeachesreview.com.au, 22 Aug 2021; Instagram profile, 09 Jun 2021)