Tim Reddish
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| National team |
 Great Britain |
| Born |
12 April 1957 Nottingham, England |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Classifications | B2 |
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Tim Reddish, OBE (born 12 April 1957) is a British former Paralympic swimmer and since 2008 the Chairman of the British Paralympic Association.[1] He won a total of five medals at three Paralympic Games.
Personal history
Reddish was born in Nottingham in 1957. He became a leisure centre manager for Nottingham City Council and a sports development officer. In 1988, at the age of 31 he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary degenerative condition affecting his sight. By 1996 he lost his vision completely, but in 2013 he underwent surgery in which an artificial retina was inserted into his eye which has enabled him to regain partial sight.[2]
Swimming career
Reddish had been a keen swimmer as a youth, and when his sight deteriorated he decided to become classified as a disability swimmer. Initially classed as a B2 athlete with reduced vision, he entered his first international tournament, the European Championships in Switzerland, in 1989. There he won 11 medals, including two gold. Reddish first represented Great Britain at a Summer Paralympics at Barcelona in 1992. In Spain Reddish won two medals, a silver in the 100m butterfly B1-B2 and a bronze in the 100m freestyle.[3] Four years later he competed at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta. Competing in five events, and now swimming as a B1 athlete (completely blind), he matched his achievements from Barcelona with another silver and bronze, this time in the 200m medley and the 100m freestyle.[3] His final Paralympics as a competitor were the 2000 Games in Sydney. There he collected his fifth and final medal, winning silver in the men's 4 × 100 m Medley for S11-13 category swimmers.[3]
As sports administrator
In 1998 Reddish was appointed the National coordinator of British Swimming and in 2003 he became National Performance Director for the Disability Swim Team.[4] Following the success of the British team at Beijing he left his post as Performance Director to become Chairman of the British Paralympic Association. He was also a board member of London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).
Awards
In 2001 Reddish was appointed a MBE for his services to swimming.[2] In 2005 he was awarded Freeman of the City of Nottingham.[5] Three years later he was appointed a Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year's Honours.[2]
References
- ↑ "Tim Reddish". paralympics.org.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 Dolan, Andy (20 February 2013). "Blind Paralympian who has 23 golds can finally see all his medals... with a new bionic eye". dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Athlete Search Results: Reddish, Tim". paralympic.org. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ↑ "Tim Reddish, OBE". paralympics.org.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ↑ "Reddish given Nottingham honour". BBC Sport. 25 May 2005. Retrieved 14 November 2015.