Ray Hass is a former
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n
backstroke
Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), 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 disa ...
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 ...
. Originally from South Africa, Hass immigrated to Australia with his family in 1993 and was an
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...
scholarship holder.
Australian Institute of Sport Swimming Achievements
Swimming career
After swimming the heat of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 2001 World Aquatics Championships
right
The 2001 World Aquatics Championships or the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Fukuoka, Japan between 16 July and 29 July 2001.
The opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the swimming and synchronised swimming events, ...
in Fukuoka
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Hass was a spectator for the final, when the Australians set a world record of 7:04.66 mins. He went on to swim in the semifinal of the 200 m backstroke finishing 9th. At the 2002 FINA Short Course World Championships
The 6th FINA Short Course World Championships were held in Moscow, Russia on April 3–7, 2002. The event took place in the 25m-pool of the Olympiiski-complex, which also hosted the swimming event at the 1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer ...
, Hass won a gold medal for Australia as part of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, swimming alongside compatriots Leon Dunne, Todd Pearson
Todd Robert Pearson (born 25 November 1977) is an Australian swimming champion, who was born in Geraldton, Western Australia. He started swimming on the advice of a doctor treating his asthma. Pearson was vice captain of Hale School in 1994 wh ...
and Grant Hackett
Grant George Hackett OAM (born 9 May 1980) is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him t ...
. Injury sidelined Hass in 2002, and despite representing Australia at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships
The 10th FINA World Aquatics Championships were held July 12–27, 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. The championships featured competition in all 5 of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Synchronised swimming, Water Polo, and Open Water Swimming.
C ...
in Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, he never fully regained his earlier form.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hass, Ray
1977 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Pretoria
Australian male backstroke swimmers
Australian male freestyle swimmers
Australian Institute of Sport swimmers
Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
Goodwill Games medalists in swimming
Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games
People educated at Ivanhoe Grammar School