English swimmer
Stephen Benjamin Parry
MBE
(born 2 March 1977) is an English former competitive
swimmer
who represented Great Britain in the Olympics, FINA world championships and European championships, and England in the Commonwealth Games. He competed internationally in 100-metre and 200-metre
butterfly
events.
Career
[
edit
]
After joining Stockport Metro, he set a
Commonwealth record
at the 2000 US Nationals in Seattle, beating, among others, a very young Michael Phelps. Later that year, he qualified for his first Olympic Games in Sydney.
Four years later, in
Athens
, Greece, Parry won Britain's first Olympic swimming medal in eight years at the
Athens Summer Olympics
in 200-metres
butterfly
, being beaten by
Michael Phelps
and
Takashi Yamamoto
. Phelps had beaten him into 4th place at
Sydney
four years earlier. Parry retired from competitive swimming in 2005.
He represented
England
and won a
bronze medal
in the 200 metres butterfly event, at the
1998 Commonwealth Games
in
Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia.
[1]
[2]
Four years later he won a silver and bronze medal in the butterfly and relay events at the
2002 Commonwealth Games
.
[3]
At the
ASA National British Championships
he won the
100 metres butterfly
title in 1997
[4]
and was an eight-time winner of the
200 metres butterfly
title in 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004.
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
After retiring, Parry joined up with former training partner
Adrian Turner
and
Rebecca Adlington
to establish Total Swimming, a swimming training program and facilities for young people.
[9]
In June 2022,
JD Sports
announced they had purchased 60% of Total swimming group, after the group had made £8.6 million at the end of the 2021 fiscal year. JD purchased the stock with an initial cash consideration of £11.1 million with a maximum of £4 million.
[10]
He briefly hosted his own Sunday afternoon programme on
BBC Radio Merseyside
before joining
BBC Sport
as part of their team covering the swimming at the
2008 Beijing Olympics
.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Parry was diagnosed with
testicular cancer
in 2009, days after marrying his wife Thea. The affected testicle was removed before the cancer spread, and in early 2012 he became a father.
[11]
Parry was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire
(MBE) in the
2022 New Year Honours
for services to swimming.
[12]
Personal bests and records
[
edit
]
Event
|
Long course
|
Short course
|
200 m freestyle
|
1.50.92
|
1.48.39
|
100 m backstroke
|
|
53.15
|
200 m backstroke
|
|
1.54.11
|
100 m butterfly
|
53.80
|
52.53
|
200 m butterfly
|
1:55.52
NR
|
1.52.91
|
Key
NR:British
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"1998 Athletes"
.
Team England
.
- ^
"England team in 1998"
.
Commonwealth Games Federation
.
- ^
"Athletes and results"
.
Commonwealth Games Federation
.
- ^
"
"For the Record." Times, 18 July 1997, p. 42"
.
The Times
. 18 July 1997. p. 42.
- ^
"
"For the Record." Times, 24 July 1995, p. 28"
.
The Times
. 24 July 1995. p. 28.
- ^
"
"For the Record." Times, 15 July 1996, p. 38"
.
The Times
. 15 July 1996. p. 38.
- ^
"
"For the Record." Times, 21 July 1997, p. 40"
.
The Times
. 21 July 1997. p. 40.
- ^
"
"For the record." Times, 29 July 2000, p. ^"
.
The Times
. 29 July 2000.
- ^
"We teach an all-important life skill through innovative and enjoyable classes that combine learning with fun"
.
Total Swimming
. 10 January 2020
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
Georgia Wright (22 June 2022).
"JD Sports acquires 60% stake in Rebecca Adlington's Total Swimming Group"
.
Retail Gazette
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
"Olympic swimming star: I feared I'd never be a dad after testicular cancer"
.
Daily Mirror
. 22 March 2012
. Retrieved
2 July
2022
.
- ^
"No. 63571"
.
The London Gazette
(Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N23.