Matthew James Welsh (born 18 November 1976) is an Australian swimmer who is the former world champion in the

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...

and

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

. He took two golds in 50-meter butterfly and 50-meter backstroke, during one hour, at the World Championships in Shanghai 2006. Welsh retired from professional swimming in March 2008 when he failed to secure a place in the team for the Beijing Olympics.

Early years

Welsh started swimming in his final years at Scotch College, Melbourne and moved into competitive swimming in 1995 after leaving school at the age of eighteen. He trained under coach

Ian Pope Ian Pope (born 1962) is an Olympic Swimming Coach for Australia where he served on the 2000 and 2008 Olympic Teams. He was also selected as a coach for the Australian Swimming Team at 6 World Championships teams 2001 2003 2004 2005 2010 2012. He w ...

at the

Melbourne Vicentre Melbourne Vicentre is a swimming club based at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC), Melbourne, Australia. Its head coach is 1992 Olympian Craig Jackson, supported by Kenrick Monk, Brad Harris and others. Prior to his resignation in ...

Club. His first big break came in 1998 at the world swimming championships in Perth, Western Australia with a gold in the 4x100-metre medley relay.

World and Olympic accomplishments

At 31 and after 11 years on the Australian Swim Team, Welsh was unable to beat the younger generation at the trials and was not selected to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Swimming-history

Welsh has won several world championship titles in both backstroke and butterfly. He first broke the Australian record in the 100-metre backstroke in 1998. He also won more Australian swimming titles than any swimmer in history, claiming his 50th win at the 2006 Australian titles in Brisbane in December 2006.

Personal life

Welsh married Lauren Newton, the daughter of

Bert Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

and

Patti Newton Patricia Anne Newton (née McGrath; born 4 February 1945) is an Australian singer, actress, dancer, stage performer and radio and television presenter. Life and career Prior to her marriage, Newton worked under her birth name, Patti McGrath, w ...

, and sister of

Matthew Newton Matthew Joseph Newton (born January 22, 1977) is an Australian actor, writer, and director, and son of TV personalities Bert Newton, Bert and Patti Newton. His acting career was interrupted by treatment in a psychiatric unit for bipolar disor ...

, on 4 November 2006. They are parents to six children born between January 2008 and August 2020.

Awards and honors

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

in 2000. *

Medal of the Order of Australia 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 ...

(OAM) in 2013 for services swimming and charity work.

References

External links

*
Elite Sports
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Welsh, Matt 1976 births Living people Australian male backstroke swimmers Australian male butterfly swimmers Swimmers from Melbourne Olympic swimmers of Australia Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games World record setters in swimming People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Olympic bronze medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Goodwill Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games