Col Pearse
Col Pearse (born 10 July 2003) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, he won the bronze medal in the 100 m butterfly S10.[1] At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, he won the silver medal Men's 200 m medley SM10.[2] Early lifePearse was born on 10 July 2003 in Echuca, Victoria, to Teena and Julian Pearse.[3] He is the youngest of four children.[4] At the age of two, Pearse’s right foot was amputated below the ankle after a collision with a ride-on lawnmower.[5][6] He still has his heel bone intact so he can walk on his stump, though his right side is about 5 cm shorter than his left so he has a pronounced limp.[6] In 2018, Pearse relocated to Melbourne train with a specialist coach at the H2O Swimming Club.[7] He attended St Michael's Grammar School in Melbourne.[7][8] In 2023, he was studying a bachelor of sports media at Holmesglen in Melbourne.[9] In 2024, Pearse was featured in a Woolworths advertising campaign for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. The campaign is inspired by the true story of his family and the local community helping Pearse with creating a training pool in a dam on his family farm.[10] CareerBesides swimming, Pearse played junior Australian Rules football for the Lockington Cats under-12s, wearing a blue-and-white hooped prosthetic foot inspired by his beloved Geelong Football Club.[6] In late 2016, he was selected as a member of the Australian Paralympic Development Squad. In 2019, he was selected on his first Australian swim team.[11] At the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London, he won the bronze medal in the men's 100 m butterfly S10 and sixth in the men's 100 m backstroke S10 and men's 200 m individual medley SM10.[12] At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Pearse won the bronze medal in the men's 100 metre butterfly S10 with a time of 57:66, 3 seconds slower than the gold medal winner Maksym Krypak of Ukraine who set a world record. Pearse competed in the men's 200 m individual medley SM10 and made the final where he finished fourth. He also made the final of the men's 100 m backstroke S10 where he finished eighth.[13] At the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships in Madeira, Pearse won two silver medals - men's 100 m butterfly S10 and Men’s 200 m individual medley SM10.[14] At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Pearse won the gold medal in the men's 100 m butterfly S10.[15] At the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester, England, Pearse won two medals - silver in the Men's 200 m medley SM10 and bronze in the Men's 100 m butterfly S10. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, he won the silver medal in the Men's 200 m medley SM10 and finished fourth in the Men's 100 butterfly S10.[16] After winning the silver medal, Pearse reflected on his regional upbringing by stating ""I think for every Australian back home living with a disability, coming from the middle of nowhere in Australia, we tend to think they'll never go far in life" and "And I think that swim there, it really shows it doesn't matter where you come from or who you are, if you've got a dream it's achievable."[16] At the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore, he won the bronze medal in the Men's 100 butterfly S10.[17] Recognition
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