Ben Treffers

Ben Treffers
Ben Treffers is an Australian sprint backstroke specialist originally from Cranberra, Australia Capital Territory. Born August 15, 1991 Treffers is the 2014 Commonwealth Games Champion and the 2013 World University Games Champion in the 50-meter backstroke. Treffers is an athletic swimmer, and has participated in other sports such as rugby, cricket and surfing.

Early career
Treffers stepped up from the junior championship level after the 2008 Junior World Championships where he won both a gold and silver in his primary events. He won his first Australian National Championship in 2011 with a win in the 100-meter backstroke. After his breakout performance Treffers qualified for his World Championship Team that year in Shanghai, where finished 10th in the 100-meter back.

2014
The year after competing in the 2013 World University Games, Treffers started 2014 off at the Pan Pacific Championships. Although he didn’t medal, Treffers did place 5th overall in the 100-meter back. Then he took on the Commonwealth Games, and this time Treffers took gold in the 50-meter back and finished just outside the podium in the 100.

2015 World Championships in Kazan
Treffers qualified for the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, where he swam his specialty backstroke events. He advanced out of both the preliminaries and the semi-finals in the 50-meter back, and entered the final heat ranked in 3rd. Going up against USA’s Matt Grevers and France’s Camille Lacourt, Treffers dove into the water tied for the fastest reaction in the field and touched the wall in 3rd. He was less than half-a-second behind Lacourt, who won the 50-meter back, and he won his first World Championships medal.