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Blake Cochrane
	2012 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Cochrane
Personal information
Full name	Blake Cochrane
Nationality	Australian
Born	25 January 1991 (age 33); Charleville, Queensland, Australia
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	breaststroke, freestyle
Classifications	S8, SB7, SM8
Club	USC Spartans
Coach	Nathan Doyle
Medal record
Men's paralympic swimming
Representing Australia
Paralympic Games
World Championships (LC)
Commonwealth Games

Blake Cochrane, OAM (born 25 January 1991) is a retired Australian Paralympic swimmer. He won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, two gold medals at the 2012 London Paralympics, a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, and a silver and one bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.^[1]

It has been announced that Cochrane will be one of Australia's television hosts for coverage of the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024. ^[2]

Personal

Blake John Cochrane born on 25 January 1991 in Charleville, Queensland.^[3] He has multiple congenital limb deficiencies affecting his hands and his feet. In December 2017, he graduated from University of the Sunshine Coast with Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Science.^[3] Cochrane and his wife Lauran have a son and daughter.

Cochrane announced his retirement from swimming in July 2022.

Swimming

Cochrane's parents enrolled him in swimming in an effort to alleviate his asthma. He began swimming competitively at age 16.^[4] It was not until his selection by Swimming Australia as an AWD (Athlete with a Disability) team competitor at the Arafura Games in Darwin, 2007, that his potential was realised.

Cochrane went on to win a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 event.^[5]

After Beijing 2008, Cochrane continued to perform strongly in the pool. He was one of the stars of the 2009 World Short Course Championships, winning two gold medals and one silver. He has been honoured with Blue awards by both University of Queensland, 2010 and the University of the Sunshine Coast, 2011. He blitzed the field at the 2011 Para Pan Pacific Championships in Canada, winning five gold medals and breaking the world record in the 100m breaststroke. 2010 was an especially prolific year for Blake as he won gold in the 100m breaststroke at the World Championships, before snaring a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. During the 2012 Australian Swimming Nationals he again set a new world record in the 100m breaststroke (SB8) final.^[6] Competing at the 2012 London Games, he competed in five events and won two gold medals in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 and Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle 34 points.^[4]

At the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Cochrane broke the world record in winning the gold medal in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7.^[7]

Competing at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, Cochrane won the silver medal in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 and a bronze medal in the Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points.^[8]^[9] He finished fourth in Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay 34pts, fifth in the Men's 50m Freestyle S8 and Men's 100m Freestyle S8.^[10]

In 2015, Cochrane was coached by Jan Cameron at the University of the Sunshine Coast.^[11]

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Cochrane won the silver medal in Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7.^[12] He also competed in Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle (34 points) and finished fifth, seventh in Men's 400m Freestyle S8 but didn't progress to the finals in Men's 50m Freestyle S8 and Men's 100m Freestyle S8.^[12]

At the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London, Cochrane won the bronze medal in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7.^[13]

Cochrane competed at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in the Men's 100 m breaststroke SB7. He won the bronze medal with a time of 1:16.97, close to 5 seconds behind the winner Carlos Serrano Zarate of Columbia.^[14] He participated in the heats of the 34pts 4x100m Medley but not in the final.

At the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, he won the bronze medal in the Men's 100 breaststroke SB8.^[15]

Cochrane is coached by Nathan Doyle at USC Spartans.^[16]

Recognition

In 2011, Cochrane was a nominee for The Age's Sport Performer Award in the Performer with a Disability category.^[17] In 2011, he won Swimming Australia's Swimmer with a Disability of the Year Award. He has been awarded the 'Graham Sherman Sunshine Coast Senior Sports Star of the Year' for 2013. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."^[18]

References

^ "Swimming Australia Paralympic Squad Announcement". Swimming Australia News. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
^ Nine confirms Paralympic Legends to Lead Paris 2024 Coverage
^ ^a ^b "Blake Cochrane". Commonwealth Games Australia website. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Blake Cochrane". International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
^ "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
^ "Blake Cochrane | Swimming Australia". www.swimming.org.au. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
^ "A world record and more gold medals for Australia in Montreal". Swimming Australia News. 14 August 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
^ "World record for 13-year-old Tiffany Thomas-Kane as Dolphins light up the pool in Glasgow 15 July". Swimming Australia News, 15 July 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
^ "Aussies unite for a nail biting bronze medal win in the men's relay". Swimming Australia News, 18 July 2015. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
^ "Blake Cochrane results". Glasgow 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
^ "Jan Cameron joins elite coaching group with Platinum recognition". Swimming Australia website. 19 November 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Blake Coachrane". Rio Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
^ "Blake Cochrane". 2019 World Para Swimming Championships Results. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
^ "Australian Paralympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
^ "Cole, Patterson And Levy Amongst Stars Of The Pool Ready To Splash And Dash In Birmingham". Commonwealth Games Australia. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
^ "Blake Cochrane". International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
^ "2011 Nominees". Melbourne, Victoria: Sport Performer Awards. 2011. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
^ "Australia Day honours list 2014: in full". The Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.