Elijah Winnington (born 5 May 2000) is an Australian competitive

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 ...

who specialises in the sprint freestyle events. He has competed in the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

, Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, FINA World Junior Swimming Championships,

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, and

2022 World Aquatics Championships The 2022 World Aquatics Championships, the 19th edition of the FINA World Aquatics Championships, were held in Budapest, Hungary, from 17 June to 3 July 2022. In March 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, FINA banned both the Russian an ...

. Winnington is the current 400m freestyle world champion.

Background

Winnington was born in Gold Coast, Queensland. He went to King's Christian College, graduating in 2017. Winnington eventually swam under Richard Spence at Bond Swimming Club for a couple of years until changing to St Peter's Western under Dean Boxall.

Career

Winnington won three bronze medals at the

2017 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships The 6th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, was held in Indianapolis, United States. The championships were for girls aged 14–17 and boys age 15–18. Over 600 athletes from 90 different countries competed at the Championships. Host selec ...

in the 200 m freestyle and the freestyle and medley relays. Winnington's breakthrough would come at the

where he won gold in the freestyle relay alongside Kyle Chalmers, Alexander Graham and Mack Horton. The relay team's time of 7:05.97 was a games record. In 2019, Winnington would compete at the

2019 Australian Swimming Championships The 2019 Australian Swimming Championships were held from 7 to 12 April 2019 at the South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide, South Australia. Following Australia's performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics where 29 medals were won and ...

, winning gold in the 400 m freestyle event and silver in the 200 m freestyle event. Two years later at the

2021 Australian Swimming Championships The 2021 Australian Swimming Championships were held from 14 to 18 April 2021 at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre in Gold Coast, Queensland. Following Australia's performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics where 29 medals were won and finishing 10th on ...

, Winnington would retain his title in the 400 m freestyle event and won bronze in the 200 m freestyle event.

2020 Summer Olympics

At the

2021 Australian Swimming Trials The 2021 Australian Swimming Trials was a sports event that was held from 12 to 17 June 2021 at the South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre to determine Australia's swimming team to the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2020 Paralympics. Olympic Qua ...

, Winnington competed in the 50 m, 100 m, 200 m, 400 m and 800 m freestyle events. He qualified for the Olympic team in the 200 m and 400 m events, coming first in the 400 m event and second in the 200 m. Although Winnington qualified with the fastest time in the world for the 400m freestyle, he failed to claim a medal in the final.

2022 World Aquatics Championships

Winnington won his first international gold medal in the 400m freestyle during the

in Budapest, Hungary. He swam a personal best time of 3:41.22 in the final, which was the 5th fastest time in the history of the men's 400m freestyle (long course). Winnington also won bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winnington, Elijah 2000 births Living people Australian male freestyle swimmers Sportspeople from the Gold Coast, Queensland Swimmers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers of Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming 21st-century Australian people Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia Sportsmen from Queensland