122.171.147.219: /* Swimming Career */

2021-08-29T13:59:08Z

Swimming Career

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{{short description|Indian Paralympic swimmer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| headercolor =
| name =
| image = Sharath gayakwad.jpg
| image_size = 
| caption =
| birth_name =
| fullname = Sharath M Gayakwad
| nickname =
| nationality = [[India]]n
| residence =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1991|05|10}}
| birth_place = [[Bangalore]]
| alma_mater = [[Jain University]], [[Bengaluru]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height = 
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| website = 
| country = India
| sport = [[Swimming (sport)|Swimming]]
| event =
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| former_partner =
| coach =
| retired =
| coaching =
| worlds =
| regionals =
| nationals =
| olympics =
| paralympics =
| highestranking = 13
| pb =
| medaltemplates =
| show-medals =
| updated = 1 July 2012
}}
'''Sharath M. Gayakwad''' is an [[India]]n [[Paralympic games|Paralympic]] swimmer from [[Bangalore]]. At the [[2014 Asian Games]], he broke [[P.T. Usha]]'s record for most number of medals by an Indian at any multi-discipline event by winning 6 medals. Coming from a modest financial background, he has over 30 international and 40 national medals to his credit, one of them being the bronze medal at the [[2010 Asian Para Games]]. He is the first Indian swimmer to qualify for the [[Paralympics]] and competed in the [[2012 Summer Paralympics]] in London.

==Early years==
Sharath was born in [[Bangalore]], [[India]] in 1991 with a deformed left hand. He attended the Little Flower Public School in Bangalore, where his parents were initially apprehensive of sending him to mandatory swimming classes because of his disability. However, he eventually took up swimming classes at the age of 9 along with the rest of the class. Soon after that, he was to be seen participating in various swimming events for the disabled. In 2003, trainer John Christopher spotted him swimming at a school event, and ended up training Sharath for 7 years. Christopher explains that Sharath was the first paralympic swimmer he had coached, and that Sharath had to work a lot on maintaining equilibrium, because of his deformity.<ref name=sportskeeda>{{cite news|last=Kumar|first=Nandini|title=Disability is not a challenge for Sharath|url=http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/03/05/disability-is-not-a-challenge-for-sharath/|accessdate=29 June 2012|newspaper=Sportskeeda|date=5 March 2012}}</ref><ref name=tehelka2012>{{cite news|last=Jha|first=Nishita|title=This Is Ability|url=http://tehelka.com/story_main52.asp?filename=hub020612This.asp|accessdate=29 June 2012|newspaper=Tehelka|date=2 June 2012}}</ref> He attended [[Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College]] for high school studies, where he was given a fee concession and given encouragement for training.<ref name=hindu2011>{{cite news|last=Ashok|first=Kalyan|title=Sailing over rough waters|url=http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article1102716.ece|accessdate=29 June 2012|newspaper=The Hindu|date=19 January 2011}}</ref>

==Swimming career==
===2008===
Sharath Gayakwad has represented India at various national and international swimming events. He won four Gold, two Silver and two Bronze at the [[IWAS World Games]], 2008.

===2010===
He won a Bronze medal clocking 1:20.90 in the 100m breaststroke at the 2010 [[Asian Para Games]], Guangzhou, China. The performance also enabled Sharath to qualify for the Paralympics scheduled to be held in London in 2012. He was ranked No. 13 in the world in his category in 100m Breaststroke event in this year.

===2012===
He is the first Indian swimmer to achieve the qualifying time for London Paralympics, 2012. He has also won 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals at the 2011 International Deutsche Meisterschaften (IDM) Swimming Championships in Berlin, Germany. Sharath is also the Asian record-holder in his category in two events – 50m Butterfly, 50m Breaststroke.<ref>http://www.gosportsfoundation.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18&Itemid=34</ref>

In 2012, [[GoSports Foundation]] sent Sharath to a high-performance training camp ahead of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. The camp was held in Perth, Australia, at the University of Western Australia,.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/201207264846/features/swimming-twirling-and-whacking-our-way-gold | title=Swimming, twirling and whacking our way to gold | date=26 July 2012 | publisher=The University of Western Australia | accessdate=4 December 2018}}</ref> The Chief Coach Mel Tandtrum<ref>{{cite web |url=http://meltantrum.com.au/ |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-07-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728103124/http://meltantrum.com.au/ |archivedate=2014-07-28 }}</ref> is a gold licensed swimming coach. Benefiting from the high-performance training, Sharath clocked personal best timings in all four events at London 2012.

===2014===
Struggling with shoulder injury leading up to the [[Asian Games]] in [[Incheon]], Sharath ended up winning 6 medals. This was the highest tally of medals by an Indian at the Asian Games. This record was previously held by [[PT Usha]] who won 5 medals at the 1986 [[Seoul Asian Games]].[http://sports.ndtv.com/swimming/news/232092-swimmer-sharath-gayakwad-breaks-pt-usha-s-record-at-asian-para-games]. Sharath Gayakwad won silver in 200m Individual Medley (SM8), bronze in Men’s 100m Butterfly (S8), bronze in Men’s 100m Breaststroke (SB8), bronze in Men’s 100 Backstroke (S8) and a bronze in 50m Freestyle (S8). His 6th medal was a bronze in the Men's 4x100 Medley Relay.

==Coaching career==
After Sharath’s retirement from competitive swimming in 2014, he coached many state and national level swimmers from numerous swimming clubs in India. Currently, he is the program director of Zee Swim Academy, a swimming club in Bangalore.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gayakwad, Sharath}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Paralympic swimmers of India]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics]]
[[Category:1991 births]]
[[Category:Swimmers from Bangalore]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award]]

Sharath Gayakwad - Revision history

122.171.147.219: /* Swimming Career */