Justin Zook (born October 16, 1985 in Chicago, Illinois) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

. He competed at the

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; ...

and

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 ...

, and also represented

Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...

in the

NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships are annual college championship events in the United States. The meets take place in a 25-yard pool, except for the Division I meets in 2000 and 2004 which were swum in a 25-meter competi ...

. Zook was born missing half his right foot and with non-functioning growth plates in his right leg; 30 operations lengthened his leg but caused nerve damage, muscle weakness and range of motion problems. He started swimming as physical therapy at age 6. , Zook holds IPC world records for 100m and 200m backstroke events.

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* * 1985 births Living people American male backstroke swimmers Paralympic swimmers for the United States Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for the United States American disabled sportspeople Swimmers from Chicago World record holders in paralympic swimming Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics S10-classified para swimmers Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in swimming 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-Paralympic-medalist-stub