Australia’s golden girl from the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Jacqueline Freney was last night announced as the New South Wales Young Australian of the Year for 2014.
Born with cerebral palsy diplegia, which restricts movement of her legs and body, 21-year-old Freney never once gave up on her sporting dream and with both her father and grandfather heavily involved in swimming, Freney dreamt of Paralympic gold.
With her father Michael Freney as her coach and mentor, the Queensland based swimmer first competed for Australia in 2007 and after making her Paralympic debut at just 16-years-of-age in Beijing, Freney has worked her way up the ranks and has now well and truly made her mark on the swimming scene.
In 2010 she picked up two silver medals at the IPC World Championships and then went on to take three silver and one bronze at the 2011 Para Pan Pacific Championships.
But it was in 2012 that Freney raised the bar even further, picking up an outstanding total of eight gold medals from eight events to emerge as Australia’s most successful Paralympian at a single Games.
This amazing feat went unmatched by any other competitor from any country and earned her the titles of Australia’s Paralympian of the Year and Swimming Australia’s Multi Class Swimmer of the Year in 2012.
The accolades continued to roll in this year with latest coming overnight as Freney was announced as a National finalist in the Young Australian of the Year Awards at a ceremony at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.
Swimming Australia’s Paralympic Performance Manager, Adam Pine said Freney’s achievements are an inspiration to all.
“Jacqui’s passion and dedication to the sport have seen her rise to the top of the world and this latest honour is a testament to a number of years of hard work on her behalf,” Pine said.
“With this award Jacqui is not only representing her state, but she will be representing Paralympic sport and encouraging the next generation of athletes with disability to get involved and follow their dreams.”
“Her accomplishments in and out of the pool are an inspiration to people of all abilities and on behalf of Swimming Australia I would like to congratulate Jacqui and wish her all the best for the years to come,” Pine said.
Freney, along with the recipients from the other States and Territories across Australia, will come together as finalists for the national awards to be announced in Canberra on January 15, 2014.
This press release was provided by Swimming Australia