Ricky Betar (born 25 September 2003) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer with an intellectual disability. He competed at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

and has been selected for

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Paralympic Games, Summer Paralympics (french: Jeux paralympiques d'été de 2024), commonly known as the Games of the XVII Paralympiad, and commonly known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international Multi-sport event, multi-sport paraspo ...

Personal

He was born 25 September 2003 in Osaka, Japan. His father is Australian and mother is Japanese. He attended Moorebank High School.

Swimming career

He is classified as a S14 swimmer. Betar has been swimming since he was 10 years old. At the 2019 Australian Championships, he took home five medals at the national champs and broke an INAS world record for the 50m freestyle. His time of 1:02.03 in the 100m backstroke resulted in him on making his maiden Australian team for the

2019 World Para Swimming Championships The 2019 World Para Swimming Championships is the 2019 edition of the World Para Swimming Championships run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The championships were held from February to June in seven countries across five continent ...

. At the

, London, he was a member of the Australian team that won the bronze medal in the Mixed 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay S14. He also competed in the Men's 200m Freestyle S14, Men's 100m Backstroke S14, Men's 100m Butterfly S14 and Men's 100m Butterfly S14. At the

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympic ...

, Betar teamed up with

Madeleine McTernan Madeleine "Maddie" McTernan (born 29 December 2000) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics where she won a silver medal. Personal life McTernan was born on 29 December 2000 in Nambour Q ...

Ruby Storm Ruby Storm (born 18 November 2003) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer with an intellectual disability. She represented Australia at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships, winning a bronze medal, and at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, 2020 Tok ...

, and

Benjamin Hance Benjamin "Ben" Hance (born 25 July 2000) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, he won a gold and bronze medal. Swimming career He is classified as a S14 swimmer. In 2021, Hance holds the world record for the M ...

in the Mixed 4 x 100 m freestyle S14. They won the silver medal with a time of 3:46.38, just under 6 seconds behind the winners, Great Britain, who set a world record. Betar also qualified for the finals in the 200 m freestyle S14 and 100 m butterfly S14 and finished seventh and eighth respectively. He also competed in the 100 m backstroke S14 but failed to advance to the Final. He competed at the

2023 World Para Swimming Championships The 2023 World Para Swimming Championships was the 12th edition of the World Para Swimming Championships, an international swimming competition for swimmers with disabilities. It was held in Manchester, Great Britain from 31 July to 6 August 202 ...

in Manchester, England but did not medal. Betar has a been selected to compete at the

in Paris, France. In 2024, he is coached by Casey Atkins at USC Spartans SC.

Recognition

In 2019, he was awarded the Kurt Fearnley Scholarship.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Betar, Ricky 2003 births Living people Intellectual Disability category Paralympic competitors Male Paralympic swimmers for Australia S14-classified para swimmers Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Australian male freestyle swimmers Australian male butterfly swimmers Australian male backstroke swimmers 21st-century Australian sportspeople Sportspeople from Osaka Australian people of Japanese descent