Sam Bramham
Encyclopedia
Sam Bramham OAM is a Paralympic swimming competitor from Australia. He competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
and 2008 Summer Paralympics
. Between those two games, he won two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal.
. What remained of his leg was amputated when he was five years old.
Bramham was born on 23 May 1988 and is from Ivanhoe, Victoria
. One of his heroes is Geoff Huegill
. Outside of swimming, he competes at water polo
, Australian rules football
and rugby union
. Amongst these sports, rugby union was his preferred sport, and he played it at school until the school removed him from the team, citing concerns that his prosthetic leg may potentially injure his team mates and opposing players. Not being able to play his first choice sport was one of the reasons he got involved with swimming.
Bramham and a friend were briefly jailed by the Merimbula Police after pretending, with assistance from McDonald's ketchup, a shark attacked them. They were released after apologising to the police.
in the Men's 100 m Butterfly S9
event, a gold medal in the Men's 4x100 m Medley 34 pts event and a silver medal in the Men's 4x100 m Freestyle 34 pts event. He won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games
in the Men's 100 m Butterfly S9 event, a gold medal in the Men's 4x100 m Medley 34 pts event and a silver medal in the Men's 4x100 m Freestyle 34 pts event.
2004 Summer Paralympics
The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as...
and 2008 Summer Paralympics
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....
. Between those two games, he won two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal.
Personal
Bramham tells several stories about how he lost his leg. One story involves his leg eaten off by an alligator. Another story is a shark attacked him. A third story, one he often tells international journalists, involves his leg being "chomped off by a kangaroo." The reality is he was born missing part of his limb: he has no femurFemur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
. What remained of his leg was amputated when he was five years old.
Bramham was born on 23 May 1988 and is from Ivanhoe, Victoria
Ivanhoe, Victoria
Ivanhoe is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Banyule. At the 2006 Census, Ivanhoe had a population of 10,600.-History:...
. One of his heroes is Geoff Huegill
Geoff Huegill
Geoffrey Andrew Huegill , nicknamed Skippy and Skip, is an Australian butterfly swimmer...
. Outside of swimming, he competes at water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
, Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. Amongst these sports, rugby union was his preferred sport, and he played it at school until the school removed him from the team, citing concerns that his prosthetic leg may potentially injure his team mates and opposing players. Not being able to play his first choice sport was one of the reasons he got involved with swimming.
Bramham and a friend were briefly jailed by the Merimbula Police after pretending, with assistance from McDonald's ketchup, a shark attacked them. They were released after apologising to the police.
Swimming
Bramham first represented Australia on the international stage in 2004. His highest international ranking ever is number one. He is coached by Amanda Isaacs of the Ivanhoe Neon Swimming Club. In 2000, he competed at the Pacific School Games. In 2006, he competed in the World Championships in Berlin, Germany where he set a world record and won a gold medal. To Bramah's disappointment, four months before the start of the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne, Victoria, the games announced they would not include Elite Athletes with Disability butterfly swim on the event schedule. To qualify for the Commonwealth Games, he switched to and qualified to compete in the 100m freestyleParalympics
Bramham was one of the youngest Australian competitors at the 2004 Paralympics. He earned a bronze medal in the first Games he competed at in the Men's 4x100 m Medley 34 event. He broke a world record in Athens during one of the heats for the 100m butterfly event. He won a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games2004 Summer Paralympics
The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as...
in the Men's 100 m Butterfly S9
S9 (classification)
S9, SB8, SM9 are disability swimming classifications used for categorising swimmers based on their level of disability.-History:The classification was created by the International Paralympic Committee and has roots in a 2003 attempt to address "the overall objective to support and co-ordinate the...
event, a gold medal in the Men's 4x100 m Medley 34 pts event and a silver medal in the Men's 4x100 m Freestyle 34 pts event. He won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....
in the Men's 100 m Butterfly S9 event, a gold medal in the Men's 4x100 m Medley 34 pts event and a silver medal in the Men's 4x100 m Freestyle 34 pts event.