Jessicah Lee Schipper OAM (born 19 November 1986) is an Australian former competition swimmer. Specialising in the 100 and 200 metres

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

, she won several gold medals at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

and the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

between 2004 and 2009.

Early life

In 2003, Jess Schipper finished high school at

Pine Rivers State High School Pine Rivers State High School is a government state secondary school in the suburb of Strathpine, City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. First opened in 1964, Pine Rivers High School is a large school. Principals Pine Rivers State H ...

Swimming career

Jess Schipper trained at the Redcliffe Leagues Lawnton club in Brisbane, under veteran coach Ken Wood, until the conclusion of the 2008 Summer Olympics. She then trained under the guidance of Stephan Widmar with the

Commercial Swimming Club Commercial Swimming Club is a swimming club that is based at the Fortitude Valley Pool in centre of Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of the most successful clubs in Australia and has produced many Olympic swimmers and medalists. Commercial swim ...

. Schipper made her debut for Australia at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, winning the bronze medal as part of the 4×100-metre medley relay team. In 2004, she competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, placing 4th in the 100-metre butterfly with the time of 58.22 seconds. She also collected the gold medal in the 4×100-metre medley relay, having swum the butterfly leg in the heats of the event. She was awarded the

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in January 2005 for service to sport. At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, she won the silver medal in the 200-metre butterfly with the time of 2:05.65, only 0.04 of a second behind

Otylia Jędrzejczak Otylia Jędrzejczak (; born 13 December 1983) is a Polish swimmer. She was the Olympic champion from 2004 Athens in the 200 metre butterfly. She finished 4th in this event in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and also swam at the 2000 Summ ...

of Poland, who set a new world record in the event. However, the race was overshadowed by the video replay showing that Jędrzejczak touched the finishing wall with only one hand, which is illegal under the butterfly rules. Doing so allows the swimmer to stretch out further with their single hand. Video replays cannot be used in appeals against race results. Schipper also won the gold in the 100-metre butterfly (57.23) and in the 4×100-metre medley relay, with teammates Sophie Edington,

Leisel Jones Leisel Marie Jones, OAM (born 30 August 1985) is an Australian former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medallist. A participant in the 2000 Summer Olympics – at just 15 years old – and 2004 Summer Olympics, she was part of gold-medal ...

and

Libby Lenton Lisbeth Constance Trickett, OAM (; born 28 January 1985) is a retired Australian swimmer. She was a gold medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the world record holder in the shor ...

. In doing so, she erased the Australian records in both the 100- and 200-metre butterfly set by

Petria Thomas Petria Ann Thomas, (born 25 August 1975) is an Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist and a winner of 15 national titles. She was born in Lismore, New South Wales, and grew up in the nearby town of Mullumbimby. Career In 1993, at the a ...

and Susie O'Neill, respectively. In 2006 Schipper wiped 0.08 of a second off her 100-metre butterfly time (57.15) Commonwealth record to become the second fastest woman ever in the history of the event, surpassing

Martina Moravcová Martina Moravcová (born 16 January 1976) is a Slovak medley, butterfly, and freestyle swimmer. She made her international swimming debut in 1991 for Czechoslovakia, and has gone on to compete in five consecutive Summer Olympics (1992–2008). ...

. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne she won the gold medal in both the 100- and 200-metre butterfly events, as well as the silver medal in 50-metre butterfly. She combined with Sophie Edington, Leisel Jones and Libby Lenton to set a new world record in the 4×100-metre medley relay, collecting her third gold medal of the meet. On 17 August 2006, Schipper set a new world record in the women's 200m butterfly, on the opening night of the

2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The tenth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2006 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from August 17–20. Six world records A world record is usually the best global and mo ...

. Schipper won the final in 2:05.40, bettering the mark of 2:05.61 set by Otylia Jędrzejczak at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships. Schipper won the gold medal in the 200-metre butterfly at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne, as well as the silver medal in the 100-metre butterfly, behind fellow Australian Libby Lenton.

2008 Summer Olympics

Schipper qualified for the 100- and 200-metre butterfly events in Beijing. Schipper won two bronze medals in her individual events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the 100-metre and 200-metre butterfly. Schipper also won gold in the 4×100-metre medley relay team with teammates

Libby Trickett Lisbeth Constance Trickett, OAM (; born 28 January 1985) is a retired Australian swimmer. She was a gold medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the world record holder in the s ...

and

Emily Seebohm Emily Jane Seebohm, OAM (born 5 June 1992) is an Australian swimmer and television personality. She has appeared at four Olympic Games between 2008 and 2021; and won three Olympic gold medals, five world championship gold medals and seven Comm ...

. Following the Olympics, Schipper split with her coach Ken Wood. This came after Wood had sold Schipper's training program to Chinese swimmer Liu Zige, who broke Schipper's world record to take the 200-metre title. She then joined the

in Brisbane, under Stephan Widmar, who previously coached her Australian relay teammates

and Trickett. Schipper maintained her consistency at the world championship level. On day two, she took silver in the 100-metre butterfly, clocking the second fastest time in history. On day five she retained her 200-metre butterfly title in world record time, defeating Liu Zige by 0.49 of a second.

2012 Summer Olympics

In 2012, Schipper again qualified for the 100- and 200-metre butterfly events. She was eliminated in the heats of the 100 m. She qualified for the semifinal of the 200-metre, but not for the final. Her 200-metre semifinal time of 2:08.21 was nearly 5 seconds slower than her best time in that event.

World & Olympic accomplishments

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schipper, Jessicah 1986 births Living people Australian female freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic gold medalists for Australia Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia World record setters in swimming Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commercial Swimming Club swimmers Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Brisbane Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games