Brian David Hill (born 29 December 1982) is a S13 Canadian para-swimmer who has competed in the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Summer Paralympics and the

2007 Parapan American Games The 2007 Parapan American Games, officially the III Parapan American Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, celebrated in the tradition of the Parapan American Games as governed by the Americas Paraly ...

. He had won five gold medals, three silver medals and 3 bronze medals in his international career. Hill started swimming as a child and competitive swimming at the age of nine. He has won the British Columbia Blind Sports Award and Athlete of the Year Award.

Personal life

Hill was born on 29 December 1982 in Duncan, British Columbia with a genetic retinal disorder which results in only ten percent vision. Since the 2004 Summer Paralympics, he has resided in Montreal, Quebec. During his childhood, Hill's parents dug a 17-metre pool for him to swim in. "It was the first sport where I was able to train and compete with other kids at an equal level," he says. He started competitive swimming at the age of nine. Hill's girlfriend

Karine Thomas Karine Thomas (born January 14, 1989) was a Canadian synchronized swimmer. Her parents were on the national water-polo team. Her grandmother, Esther Blais-Valin, was a synchronized swimmer in the 1940s and 50s. Career Thomas began synchronized ...

is a member in Canada's Olympic synchronized swimming team. After he retires, he wants to have a culinary career.

Career

At the age of 17, Hill participated in six events at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

. He won silver in the men's 100 metre butterfly in 1:02.79, finished fourth in the 100 metre backstroke in 1:10.39, sixth in the 50 metre freestyle in 27.11, eighth in the

100 metre freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics. The first swimmer to break the one-minute barrier (long course) was Johnny Weissmuller, in 1 ...

in 59.23, eighth in the

400 metre freestyle 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smalles ...

in 4:54.96 and tenth in the

200 metre individual medley The 200-metre individual medley is a race in competitive swimming in which swimmers compete in all 4 strokes (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle) in one race, with each leg being 50 metres in length. The stroke order is different ...

in 2:35.39. Looking back in 2008 on his results, Brian said, "Sydney Games were special because it was my first Paralympic Games and everything. The atmosphere, crowds and facilities were amazing." At the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

, Hill won bronze in the 100 metre backstroke in 1:06.97, bronze in the

in 4:39.52, finished equal fourth in the 100 metre butterfly in 1:03.90, fifth in the

in 59.32, fifth in the

in 2:31.07 and 14th in the 50 metre freestyle in 28.09. About the 2004 Paralympics in Greece, Brian said in 2008 that he "was really able to feel the history of the Olympics". At the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

in Melbourne, Hill finished ninth in the 50 metre EAD freestyle in 26.68 and ninth in the 100 metre EAD freestyle in 59.58. Hill won five medals at the 2007 Parapan American Games including three golds and two silvers. He won gold in 100 metre butterfly where he got a time of 1:00.52. He had tied the world record time with Canadian para-swimmer Walter Wu. He had also won another two golds and two silvers. He says "I'm pretty happy with the result overall. Technically it was very good." Before going to Beijing for his third Paralympic Games, Hill's preparation involved swimming about 120 kilometres in two weeks. Hill said, "I completed about eight to nine workouts a week and spent around 18 to 20 hours per week in the pool,". At the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Hill finished fifth in the 100 metre backstroke in 1:05.52, 12th in the 100 metre butterfly in 1:03.25, 15th in the

in 59.80 and 17th in the 50 metre freestyle in 26.84. At the

2009 IPC Swimming World Championships 25 m The 2009 IPC Swimming World Championships 25 m were held from 29 November – 5 December in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was the first ever world-level short course paralympic swimming competition organised by the International Paralympic Committee ...

in Rio, Hill won gold in the 100 metre backstroke in a new record time of 59.30, gold in the 100 metre butterfly in a new record time of 57.04 and bronze in the 100 metre freestyle in 54.66. At the

2010 IPC Swimming World Championships The 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships was an international swimming competition, the biggest meet for athletes with a disability since the 2008 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Eindhoven, Netherlands and lasted from 14 to 21 August. Venue ...

, Hill finished fifth in the 100 metre backstroke in 1:04.65. At the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

, Hill finished seventh in the 100 metre backstroke in 1:04.97 and equal eighth in the heats 100 metre butterfly with Australia's

Sean Russo Sean Russo (born 5 April 1991) is an Australian swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, 2012 London and 2016 Summer Paralympics, 2016 Rio Paralympics. Personal Russo was born on 5 April 1991 and has retinitis pigment ...

in 1:01.61. In the swim-off, Russo defeated Hill with each posting times of 1:01.24 and 1:02.72 respectively.

Achievements

In 2002, Hill won the Sport British Columbia Athlete of the Year award in the athletes with a disability category. He won again in the next year. In 2003, Hill was awarded the Blind Sports award from the British Columbia Blind Sports and Recreation Association (BCBSRA).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Brian 1982 births Living people People from Duncan, British Columbia Canadian male freestyle swimmers Canadian male backstroke swimmers Canadian male butterfly swimmers Canadian male medley swimmers Paralympic swimmers of Canada Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Swimmers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games World record holders in paralympic swimming Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Paralympic medalists in swimming S13-classified Paralympic swimmers