Leisel Marie Jones OAM (born 30 August 1985 in Katherine, Northern
Territory, Australia) is an Australian Olympic gold
medalist swimmer. A
participant in the 2000 Summer Olympics - at just 15 years old - and
2004 Summer Olympics, she was part of gold medal winning Australian
team in the Women's 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the Athens Games in
2004 and a gold medalist for 100 meter breaststroke in the 2008 Summer
Olympics in Beijing.
She is noted for employing a classical
breaststroke technique, typified by a slow, but deeper stroke cycle,
and also by her slow starts.
Swimming career Jones
was selected for the Australian team at just 14 years of age,
qualifying in the 100 m breaststroke at the Australian Championships in
May 2000 in Sydney, and was partially responsible for ending the
international career of former breaststroke champion Samantha Riley.
She swam a personal best in the final at the Olympics to claim a
somewhat unexpected silver medal behind American swimmer Megan Quann.
She also combined with Dyana Calub, Petria Thomas and Susie O'Neill in
the 4x100 m medley relay to win silver, again behind the Americans.
Jones left school aged 15 to concentrate on swimming.
At the
2001 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, and Jones was now
one of the established swimmers, and was expected to do well, despite
still being two months shy of her sixteenth birthday. However, she
succumbed under the pressure, finishing second to China's Luo Xuejuan.
It also marked her international debut in the 200 m breaststroke, where
she came fourth place (2:25.46s). She also collected a gold in the
medley relay alongside Calub, Thomas and Sarah Ryan, the first time
that the United States had been beaten at such a level of competition
in this event.
In 2002, she claimed her first titles on the
international arena, claiming the breaststroke double at the 2002
Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
In
Athens, Jones was again the quickest qualifier of the 100 m
breaststroke, after setting an Olympic record (1:06.78) in the
semifinals. Again, she succumbed to nerves in the final, making a poor
turn, subsequently panicking and finished in the bronze position, again
won by Luo. In the 200 m event, she attempted to take an attacking
approach, but faded in the last 50 m and was pipped to the wall by
Beard, winning silver.
Jones' world record in the 100 m
breaststroke was broken at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in
Montreal, Canada by Jessica Hardy of the United States in 1:06.20,
again in the semifinal. However, this time the expectations turned to
Hardy, and Jones turned the tables and beat Hardy to the wall, breaking
through for her first win at world or Olympic level. Later in the week,
having exorcised her demons, she demolished the world record for the
200 m breaststroke (2:21.72s), on 29 July 2005. In the process, she won
the gold medal, leaving her rivals more than 6 metres behind.
For her efforts, she was named by Swimming World magazine as the Female World Swimmer of the Year in 2005.
Jones
used to train at the Redcliffe club in Scarborough, Queensland, and was
coached by Ken Wood. Her training partners included fellow Australian
team members, Geoff Huegill and Jessicah Schipper. After her
disappointing campaign in Athens, Jones moved to train at the Fortitude
Valley Pool in Brisbane, Australia, alongside Libby Lenton, under
Swiss-born coach Stephan Widmer. Following the move, Jones began to
speak openly about the depression and self-esteem issues that had
plagued her following her being thrust into the spotlight at such a
tender age. This and the successes that followed endeared her to an
Australian public that had been critical of her attitude following her
failure to capture individual gold in Athens. Some, including swimming
legend Dawn Fraser, believed Jones had acted immaturely and
ungratefully, particularly in her indifferent displays of emotion
during post-race interviews and medal ceremonies. This shift in
attitude appeared to reflect a more contented Jones, and helped to make
her a darling of both the public and the media.
In 2007, she
competed in the World Championships and won the 100 m and 200 m
breaststroke and the 4 × 100 m medley relay, setting a world record in
the relay. She also won silver in the 50 m breaststroke. She then left
Brisbane and Widmer to move to Melbourne to train under Rohan Taylor,
so that she could live with her fiancé Marty Pask, an Australian rules
footballer with the Western Bulldogs who was delisted at the end of
2007.
In early 2008, she won the breaststroke double at the 2008
Australian Swimming Championships to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
Jones won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in 100
breaststroke, touching the line a full body length ahead of her rival.
Her time of 1:05.17 was 1.66 s faster than the silver medalist Rebecca
Soni. She also earned a silver medal at the Beijing games in the 200m
Breaststroke, finishing second to Soni. Leisel also won a gold medal in
the 4x100m medley relay, with the Australian team thrashing the
previous world record.