Denis Tarasov (born 31 July 1993) is a

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

competing mainly in category S8 events. 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 ...

in London he won five medals, including gold in the 50 metre freestyle S8 event. He has represented Russia at two IPC World Championships with a total of 12 medals. At the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow he set four world records, two as part of Russian relay teams and two individual records, in the 50m and 100m freestyle S8 events.

Personal history

Tarasov was born with a congenital

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

. His father is a reired boxer, and his brother competed in swimming. He attends

Saratov State University Saratov Chernyshevsky State University (russian: Саратовский государственный университет имени Н. Г. Чернышевского, СГУ, transcribed as SGU) is a major higher education and research inst ...

where he studies economics.

Career history

Tarasov began swimming at the age of six, after his parents took him to the local pool to improve his general health. He progressed to swimming competitively, joining the Youth Adaptive Sports School Rehabilitation and Physical Education Club in Saratov. Before 2012 Tarasov was officially categorized as a S8 (freestyle, butterfly and backstroke) and SB7 (breaststroke) swimmer. In 2012 Tasarov competed in his first major international competition when he was selected for the Russian team at the Summer Paralympics in London. Tarasov entered six events, winning medals in five of them. The highlight of his Games was his gold in the 50 m freestyle – S8, where in the heats he posted a time of 25.92, a world record. In the final Tarasov beat his own world record when he finished in 25.82, beating

Maurice Deelen Maurice Deelen is a Dutch former swimmer. He won a silver medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games in the 50m freestyle, and bronze medals in the 100m breast and 200m individual medley. He also placed 4th in the 100m freestyle in London. He competed ...

of the Netherlands by almost half a second. Along with his gold he left London with three silver medals, 100 m freestyle S8, 100 m backstroke S8, 4 × 100 m medley relay 34pts and a bronze in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay 34pts. The following year Tarasov was reselected to represent his country at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal. There he successfully defended his place as the world's 50m freestyle champion posting a further world record of 25.81 in the final. He also added the 100m freestyle title and won three silvers in the 100m backstroke S8, 100m butterfly S8 and the 4x100 m medley relay (34pts) along with two bronze in the 4x50 m medley relay (20pts) and 4x100 m freestyle relay (34pts). At the

2014 IPC Swimming European Championships The 2014 IPC Swimming European Championships was an international swimming competition held in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, from the 4th to the 10th of August. Around 375 athletes from 35 different countries attended. The venue, the Pieter van d ...

held in Eindhoven, Tarasov was entered for seven events, winning medals in each. In the 50m freestyle S8 he bettered his world record set in Montreal by almost half a second, recording a time of 25.32. He won gold and set a further world record in the 100m freestyle S8 (56.27) and added a further two gold medals in the team relays. Tasarov added two silvers in the 100m butterfly and 400m freestyle and a bronze in the 100m backstroke. In 2015 Tasarov travelled to Glasgow to participate in his second

IPC Swimming World Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known before 30 November 2016 as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic C ...

and defend his world titles in the 50m and 100m freestyle events. He entered six events, winning five gold medals and ended as the tournament's third most successful competitor behind Brazil's

Daniel Dias Daniel de Faria Dias (born 24 May 1988) is a Brazilian Paralympic swimmer. Having learnt to swim in 2004 after being inspired by Clodoaldo Silva at the 2004 Summer Paralympics, he entered his first international competition two years later winni ...

(7 gold, 1 silver) and Belarusian

Ihar Boki Ihar Boki ( be, Ігар Аляксандравіч Бокій; born 28 June 1994) is a visually impaired Belarusian Paralympic swimmer. He competed at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Paralympics and won 16 gold medals. , he holds the S13 long course wo ...

(6 gold, 1 silver). In his favoured 50m freestyle S8, he took gold setting a Championship record of 25.34, just outside his own world best. In three of his other medals world records were broken. He swam a time of 55.84 in the 100m freestyle S8 beating his own record set in Eindhoven, and he was part of two world record breaking team relay teams, the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and the 4 × 100 m medley relay. He completed his medal haul with gold in the 100m butterfly S8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarasov, Denis Paralympic swimmers for Russia Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Russia Paralympic silver medalists for Russia Russian male freestyle swimmers Living people 1993 births Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics World record holders in paralympic swimming S8-classified para swimmers Paralympic bronze medalists for Russia Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the World Para Swimming European Championships Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic gold medalists for the Russian Paralympic Committee athletes Paralympic silver medalists for the Russian Paralympic Committee athletes Russian male butterfly swimmers Russian male backstroke swimmers People from Engels, Saratov Oblast Sportspeople from Saratov Oblast 21st-century Russian people