Jim Anderson (swimmer)

For other people with the same name, see James Anderson (disambiguation).

James Allan Anderson OBE (born 14 April 1963) is a Scottish former paralympic swimmer who competed in the S2 classification. He is a six-time Paralympic Games, nine-time World Paraswimming champion.^[1]

Jim Anderson
OBE

Personal information
Full name	James Allan Anderson
Nickname	Jim the Swim
Nationality	United Kingdom  Scotland
Born	(1963-04-14) 14 April 1963 (age 61) St Andrews, Fife
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle, Backstroke
Club	Broxburn ASC
Medal record Men's para swimming Representing  Great Britain Paralympic Games 1996 Atlanta 50 m backstroke S2 1996 Atlanta 100 m freestyle S2 2004 Athens 50 m backstroke S2 2004 Athens 50 m freestyle S2 2004 Athens 100 m freestyle S2 2004 Athens 200 m freestyle S2 1992 Barcelona 50 m backstroke S2 1992 Barcelona 50 m freestyle S2 1992 Barcelona 100 m freestyle S2 1996 Atlanta 50 m freestyle S2 2000 Sydney 50 m backstroke S2 2000 Sydney 50 m freestyle S2 2000 Sydney 100 m freestyle S2 2008 Beijing 50 m backstroke S2 2008 Beijing 200 m freestyle S2 2008 Beijing 50 m freestyle S2 2008 Beijing 100 m freestyle S2 World Championships 1994 Malta 50 m freestyle S2 1994 Malta 100 m freestyle S2 1998 New Zealand 50 m backstroke S2 1998 New Zealand 100 m freestyle S2 1998 New Zealand 200 m freestyle S2 2002 Argentina 50 m backstroke S2 2002 Argentina 100 m freestyle S2 2002 Argentina 200 m freestyle S2 2006 South Africa 50 m freestyle S2 1998 New Zealand 50 m freestyle S2 2002 Argentina 50 m freestyle S2 2006 South Africa 50 m backstroke S2 2006 South Africa 100 m freestyle S2 2006 South Africa 200 m freestyle S2 1994 Malta 50 m backstroke S2 Paralympic World Cup 2005 Manchester 50 m backstroke S2 2006 Manchester 50 m freestyle S2 2008 Manchester 50 m freestyle S2 European Championships 2009 Reykjavik 50 m freestyle S2 2009 Reykjavik 4x50 m medley 20pts 2009 Reykjavik 200 m freestyle S2

Swimming career

Anderson has represented Great Britain at the Paralympic Games on six occasions, in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and the 2012 Summer Paralympics. He has won six Paralympic gold medals, four at the 2004 Games, in the 50 m, 100 m and 200 m freestyle and the 50 m backstroke events, and two at the 1996 Games in the 50 m backstroke and 100 m freestyle races. He has also set two world records and four European records. He also competed at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.^[1] He was selected again for the 2012 Paralympics in London,^[2] finishing fourth in the S2 class final of the 50m backstroke^[3][4] and eighth in the S2 100m freestyle.^[5][6]

Honours

In 2004, Anderson was awarded the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year award and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2005 New Year Honours.^[7] He was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.^[8]

Personal life

Anderson has cerebral palsy.^[1] He is also a former British Wheelchair Disco champion.^[9] He was born in St Andrews, Fife and resides in Broxburn.^[10]

Footnotes

1. "Meet Scotland's Paralympic heroes dreaming of another gold rush". Daily Record. Media Scotland. 2 September 2008.
2. London 2012: Paralympic veteran Jim Anderson gets sixth call BBC Sport, 29 May 2012
3. Men's 50m Backstroke - S2 Channel4.com, 5 September 2012
4. Paralympics 2012: Great Britain athletes on Day Seven BBC Sport, 5 September 2012
5. Jim 'the swim' Anderson trails in 8th 100m freestyle S2 Channel4.com, 3 September 2012
6. Anderson medal hopes take dive after 100m agony Herald Scotland, 4 September 2012
7. "Sporting stars top honours list". BBC News. 31 December 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
8. "No. 59090". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 2009. p. 9.
9. Real Lives: Paralympian Jim Anderson adds OBE to his medal haul Scotsman.com, 16 December 2009
10. "West Lothian swim star Jim Anderson scoops top award". Daily Record. Retrieved 5 January 2023.

External links

• "Swimming: Jim Anderson". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
• James Anderson at the International Paralympic Committee
• James Anderson OBE at British Swimming