Meet the Team - Josef Craig
Get to know first-time Paralympian Josef Craig. Read his Tweets, view images, watch him in action and being interviewed, check out Josef in numbers, see how his Paralympic rivals compare, and much more.
D.O.B.
17.02.1997
Born
Hebburn
Height
5ft 10in
Training base
South Tyneside SC
Coach
Ken Nesworthy
Paralympic History
Debut
In Action
S7 100m Freestyle on 3rd September
S7 50m Freestyle on 4th September
S7 400m Freestyle on 6th September
Did you know?
- Josef has cerebral palsy, and competes in the S7 classification with his favourite event being the 400m Freestyle - a distance over which British teammate Jonathan Fox is S7 world record holder.
- While he was largely targeting a spot at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, doctors thought Josef's swimming career might take a hit when he was diagnosed with Grave’s Disease last year - a thyroid condition which led to substantial weight loss.
- But after eight weeks away from the pool and having had his thyroid removed, he made a determined return to swimming, setting personal bests in five events across the two Paralympic trials.
Josef's Career
Josef will make his international debut at the London Paralympics, after lifting his first British medal with MC 100m Freestyle bronze at the 2012 British Gas Swimming Championships at London Aquatics Centre. A month on, he shaved half a second of his previous personal best to clinch gold in the Men’s Youth MC 100m Freestyle final at the British International Disability Championships. This competition was highly successful for Josef, who also won bronze in the Men’s Open MC 400m Freestyle with a new lifetime best, and broke 30 seconds for the first time to win gold in the Men’s Youth MC 50m Freestyle in 29.95.
Useful?
5
