Ryan Napoleon (born 26 May 1990) is an Australian
freestyle
Freestyle may refer to:
Brands
* Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe
* Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile
* Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine
* ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker
* Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...
swimmer and
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
medallist.
Career
Youth Swimming
Napoleon won gold in the 4×200m freestyle relay, silver in the 4×100m medley relay and bronze in the 100m butterfly whilst representing Australia at the
Youth Olympic Festival.
At the
2008 Commonwealth Youth Games
The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games (Hindi: 2008 कॉमनवेल्थ यूथ गेम्स), officially known as the III Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Pune 2008, a regional sporting event that was held from 12 to 18 O ...
in Pune, India, Napoleon won gold in the 200m freestyle, 4×100m freestyle, 4×200m freestyle, 4×100m medley relays as well as silver in the 100m freestyle.
During the
2008 Oceania Swimming Championships held in Christchurch, New Zealand, Napoleon won gold in the 4×200m relay and bronze in the 200m butterfly.
Napoleon won the national 1500m title and became the sixth fastest Australian of all time at the
2009 Australian Swimming Championships The 2009 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from 17–22 March 2009. They doubled as the national trials for the 2009 World Aquatics Championships.
Results
See also
* 2009 in swimmin ...
.
2009 World Championships
At the
2009 World Championships, Napoleon placed 11th in the 1500m freestyle, 12th in the 800m freestyle, and 21st in the 400m freestyle.
2010 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships
At the
2010 Australian Championships Napoleon won silver medals in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events.
2010 Pan Pacific Championships and Commonwealth Games
Napoleon placed 9th in the 1500m, and was ranked 6th in the 400m freestyle at the
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships is a long course swimming event first held in 1985.[2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...](_blank)
Napoleon won silver in the 400m freestyle in a time of 3.48.59, and gold as part of the 4×200m freestyle relay team.
2011 Trials and Australian Swimming Championships
At the 2011 Australian Swimming Championships, he won the 400m freestyle in a time of 3:45.16, making him the 4th fastest Australian 1500m swimmer of all time, behind Olympic Champions
Ian Thorpe
Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
,
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 ...
and
Kieren Perkins
Kieren John Perkins, OAM (born 14 August 1973) is a former Australian freestyle swimmer. He specialised in the 1500-metre freestyle and won successive Olympic gold medals in this event in the 1990s. He won his first at the 1992 Olympics which ...
2011 World Championships
In what could be described as an unlucky meet for Napoleon, he finished in 13th place for both the men's 400m and 800m freestyle.
2012 Olympic Trials and Australian Swimming Championships
Napoleon secured his place in his maiden Olympic team when he earned 2nd place in the men's 400m freestyle at the
2012 Australian Swimming Championships
The 2012 Australian Swimming Championships were held from 15 March until 22 March 2012 at the South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide, South Australia. They double up as the national trials for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Qualificat ...
. In both the heat and semi-finals of this event, Napoleon was to race against Australian swimming champion,
Ian Thorpe
Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
who was making a comeback to swimming via this event. Despite both races receiving a high degree of media attention, Napoleon did not let this unnerve him. He swam impressively in his heat to become the top qualifier and later placed first in his semi-final race. To further cement Napoleon's Olympic dream, he placed 5th in perhaps what is the most competitive of the men's events, the 200m freestyle. This earned him a spot in the men's 4×200m relay team for the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in London.
At the Olympics, he finished 8th in the 400m freestyle, and was part of the Australian team that finished 5th in the freestyle.
Doping ban
After Napoleon qualified to contest the 400m and 1500m freestyle at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, swimming governing body FINA imposed a three-month doping ban on him due to a failed drug test taken in November 2009.
Although FINA accepted an innocent mistake was made when Napoleon took incorrectly labelled asthma medication, it was decided that he would be ineligible for three months after the violation with the suspension commencing on 20 August 2010, meaning that he was unable to train with his squad and would be unable to compete in the Games.
Napoleon appealed the decision made by FINA to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) resulting in the ban being backdated to 15 June 2010. Although he had missed out on vital training and preparation, Napoleon was then eligible to compete in Delhi where he claimed silver in the 400m freestyle and gold in the 4×200m relay.
See also
*
List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
This is the complete list of men's Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming from 1930 to 2022.
Current program
50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
50 metre backstroke
...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Napoleon, Ryan
1990 births
Living people
Australian male freestyle swimmers
Swimmers from Sydney
Olympic swimmers of Australia
Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming
Universiade medalists in swimming
Universiade gold medalists for Australia
Universiade bronze medalists for Australia
Doping cases in Australian swimming
Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade
Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games