Paul Palmer (born 18 October 1974 in
Lincoln, England
Lincoln () is a cathedral city, a non-metropolitan district, and the county town of Lincolnshire, England. In the 2021 Census, the Lincoln district had a population of 103,813. The 2011 census gave the Lincoln Urban Area, urban area of Lincoln, ...
) is a former international
freestyle swimmer
Freestyle is a category of swimming competition, defined by the rules of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), in which competitors are subject to a few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races are the most common ...
for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
.
Swimming career
Coached by Ian Turner at the City of Lincoln Pentaqua Swimming Club, Palmer qualified for the 200 m, 400 m and 1500 m freestyle at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, finishing a respectable 9th position (winning the "B" final) in the 200 m, and 10th position in the 400 m. After this success, in order to increase his chances of a medal at the following Atlanta games, Palmer relocated to Bath, along with Turner. Training in a 50 m pool, alongside other Olympic hopefuls at the performance centre allowed Palmer to further increase his swimming skills.
Palmer won the silver medal in the 400 m freestyle at the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia. A year later, at the
1997 European Aquatics Championships in
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, he won gold in the 200 m freestyle.
He won the 2001
British Championship in the 100 metres freestyle, was six times winner of the
200 metres freestyle (1993, 1995, 1998–2001) and a six times winner of the
400 metres freestyle in (1992, 1993, 1998–2001).
See also
*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming.
Men's events 50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
100 metre backstroke
200 metre ...
References
1974 births
Living people
English male freestyle swimmers
Olympic swimmers of Great Britain
Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from Lincoln, England
Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists in swimming
Team Bath swimmers
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