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Matt Welsh

Personal information
Full name	Matthew James Welsh
Nickname(s)	"Matt"
Nationality	Australia
Stroke(s)	Backstroke and butterfly
Club	Australian Institute of Sport
Date of birth	18 November 1976 (1976-11-18) (age 33)
Place of birth	Melbourne, Victoria
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Medal record Olympic Games Silver 2000 Sydney[1] 100 m backstroke Silver 2000 Sydney 4x100 m medley Bronze 2000 Sydney 200 m backstroke World Championships (LC) Gold 1998 Perth 4x100 m medley Gold 2001 Fukuoka[2] 100 m backstroke Gold 2001 Fukuoka 4x100 m medley Gold 2003 Barcelona[3] 50 m butterfly Gold 2007 Melbourne[4] 4x100 m medley Silver 2003 Barcelona 50 m backstroke Silver 2003 Barcelona 100 m backstroke Silver 2005 Montreal[5] 50 m backstroke Bronze 2001 Fukuoka 50 m backstroke Goodwill Games Silver 2001 Brisbane 50m Backstroke Gold 2001 Brisbane 100m Backstroke Silver 2001 Brisbane 200m Backstroke Gold 2001 Brisbane 4×100 m Medley World Championships (SC) Gold 1999 Hong Kong 4x100 m medley Gold 2002 Moscow 50 m backstroke Gold 2002 Moscow 100 m backstroke Gold 2006 Shanghai[6] 50 m backstroke Gold 2006 Shanghai 100 m backstroke Gold 2006 Shanghai 50 m butterfly Gold 2006 Shanghai 4x100 m medley Silver 1999 Hong Kong 100 m backstroke Silver 2004 Indianapolis[7] 50 m backstroke Silver 2004 Indianapolis 100 m backstroke Silver 2004 Indianapolis 200 m backstroke Silver 2004 Indianapolis 4x100 m medley Bronze 1999 Hong Kong 50 m backstroke Bronze 2006 Shanghai 200 m backstroke Commonwealth Games Silver 2006 Melbourne[8] 100 m backstroke Silver 2006 Melbourne 50 m butterfly Gold 2006 Melbourne 4 x 100 m medley relay Gold 2002 Manchester[9] 50 m backstroke Gold 2002 Manchester 100 m backstroke Gold 2002 Manchester 4 x 100 m medley relay Pan Pacific Championships Silver 1999 Sydney 100 m backstroke Silver 2002 Yokohama 200 m backstroke Silver 2002 Yokohama 4x100 m medley Bronze 2006 Victoria 4x100 m medley

Matthew ("Matt") Welsh (born November 18, 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian swimmer who is the world champion in the backstroke and butterfly. Matt currently trains under coach Ian Pope at the Melbourne Vicentre Club. He took two golds in 50 metres butterfly and 50 metres backstroke, during one hour, at the World Championships in Shanghai 2006. Matt announced his retirement from professional swimming on 24 March when he failed to secure a place at the Beijing Olympics, however Matt will still swim in the 50m backstroke at the Olympic trials, however, this is not an Olympic event.^[10]

Early years

Welsh started swimming in his final years at Scotch College, Melbourne and moved into competitive swimming in 1995 after leaving school at the age of eighteen. His first big break came in 1998 at the world swimming championships in Perth, Western Australia with a gold in the 4 x 100m medley relay.

Olympic competition

At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Welsh broke onto the international scene winning three Olympic medals.

Silver medal:

100 metre backstroke

4 x 100 m medley relay

Bronze medal:

200 metre backstroke

Welsh placed 5th in the 100 backstroke at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Welsh was unable to beat the younger generation at the trials and didn't compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Swimming history

Welsh has won several world championship titles in both backstroke and butterfly. He has held the Australian record in the 100 metre backstroke since 1998. He has also won more Australian swimming titles than any swimmer in history, claiming his 50th win at the 2006 Australian titles in Brisbane in December 2006.

Personal life

He married Lauren Newton, the daughter of TV star Bert Newton, on 4 November, 2006 at St Dominic's Catholic Church in Melbourne. They were engaged in December 2005. They are parents to Sam Albert, born January 2008 and Eva Eunice, born May 2009.^[11]

External links

• FINA profile for Matt Welsh
• Swimming Australia profile for Matt Welsh
• Elite Sports
• Matt Welsh at the Internet Movie Database

References

• sports-reference