Leisel Jones
Encyclopedia
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 × 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. Along with South African champion Penny Heyns, Jones is highly regarded as one of the greatest breaststroke swimmers ever.
, 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 Widmar
at the Commercial Swimming Club
. 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 young 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.
In 2009, Jones became the new face of the WSPA
(Australia & New Zealand) anti-whaling campaign.
.
, Petria Thomas
and Susie O'Neill in the 4×100 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 expected to win medals, but finished 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 world or Olympic level in this event, excluding the systemically doped East German and Chinese teams.
In 2002, she claimed her first titles on the international arena, claiming the breaststroke double at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
in Manchester
. Australia also won the medley relay.
In 2003, Jones set an Australian record in the 200 m individual medley earlier in the year, in an experimental event. Later at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships
in Barcelona
, Spain, she started confidently, setting a world record in the semifinals of the 100 m breaststroke (1:06.37s). However, she succumbed to nerves in the final and came third, with Luo again winning the event. She also achieved a silver in the 200 m breaststroke in Barcelona, behind Amanda Beard
in (2:24.33s). She collected a bronze in the medley relay.
In the month leading up to the Athens Olympics
, Jones set a world record (2:22.96) in the 200 m breaststroke in a meet in Brisbane, Australia. This led to high expectations of an even better performance in Athens, as Jones had not been rested prior to swimming the world record. However, it was reclaimed by Beard at the US Olympic trials only a few days later.
, after setting an Olympic record (1:06.78) in the semifinals. However, in the final she finished in the bronze position, again behind by Luo Xuejuan. Jones made a poor start off the blocks and was unable to recover. 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 Amanda Beard, winning silver. Australia went on the win the medley relay, giving Jones her first Olympic gold.
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 her to the wall, breaking through for her first win at world or Olympic level. Later in the week, having exorcised her demons, she broke 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 six metres behind. Australia and Jones won the medley relay easily.
For her efforts she was named by Swimming World magazine
as the Female World Swimmer of the Year
in 2005.
The changes which occurred in 2005 continued to pay off at the Australian Commonwealth Games Swimming Trials in early 2006 where Jones broke her personal best time in the 50 m (30.85) and took 1.18 seconds off her previous world record in the 200 m breaststroke (2.20:54). She was almost two seconds clear of the then second fastest swimmer in the event's history, Amanda Beard. On Day 5 of the Australian Nationals, Jones also gained a new world record in the 100 m breaststroke final. Jones won the Australian championship in a time of 1:05.71 which lowered the previous mark by 0.49 s.
Jones completed a clean sweep of the breaststroke events (50 m, 100 m and 200 m) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
, the only time this has been achieved in the breaststroke events in the games' history. In the butterfly events (50m, 100 m and 200m) at the 2002 Manchester Games, Petria Thomas
was the first swimmer in Commonwealth Games history to complete a clean sweep. The 50 m events were introduced at the Manchester Games. In the 50 m breaststroke, an event she had only recently begun competing in, she defeated the reigning world champion and world record holder Jade Edmistone
. She later won another gold in the 200 m breaststroke and completed the sweep with the gold medal in the 100 m in a world record time of 1:05.09 – an effort that saw her own world record reduced 0.62 s and was declared "Beamonesque" by aquatics journalist Craig Lord, a reference to Bob Beamon
's legendary long jump at the Mexico City Olympics. A fourth gold medal in world record time in the 4×100 m medley relay with Sophie Edington
, Jessicah Schipper
and Libby Lenton
rounded off her Commonwealth Games.
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 football
er with the Western Bulldogs
who was delisted at the end of 2007. Her dissolution of a successful partnership raised eyebrows and many questioned whether putting her personal life ahead of a proven competitive formula would backfire in the pool.
In early 2008, she won the breaststroke double at the 2008 Australian Swimming Championships
to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
Although missing the World Short Course Championships in Manchester
due to the preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics she broke her own world record over 100 m breaststroke (SC) in 1:03,72 at the Telstra Grand Prix in Canberra.
. While she was the favorite to win in the 200 breaststroke, she was upset by American Rebecca Soni, who won gold in world record time. Jones took the silver. Leisel also won a gold medal in the 4×100m medley relay, with the Australian team breaking the previous world record by three seconds.
Jones was awarded the Telstra Swimmer Of The Year award as part of the year's international all-star team, in Sydney in October 2008.
At the World Cup
meeting at Berlin, Germany, Jones set world records in the 100 and 200 m breaststroke (short course). Jones had a low key year and opted out of the World Championships.
at the 2010 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships.
At the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, California
, Jones collected 3 silver and a bronze. She competed in the 50m breaststroke
(bronze) 100m breaststroke (silver), 200m breaststroke (silver), and the 4×100 medley relay (silver) events. In all four of events, she was behind the Americans; in the 50 m she was behind Jessica Hardy
and fellow Australian Leiston Pickett
and in the 100 and 200 m she was behind Rebecca Soni
.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 30 August 1985 in Katherine
Katherine, Northern Territory
Katherine is a town situated southeast of Darwin in the "Top End" of Australia in the Northern Territory. It is the fourth largest settlement in the Territory after the capital Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs...
, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Australia) is an Australian Olympic gold medalist swimmer. A participant in the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
– at just 15 years old – and 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, she was part of gold medal winning Australian team in the women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay
Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's 4 x 100 metre medley relay
The women's 4×100 metre medley relay was a swimming event held as part of the Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on August 20, 2004 and on August 21, 2004.77 swimmers from 16 nations competed.-Medalists:...
at the Athens Games in 2004 and a gold medalist for 100 meter breaststroke in the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
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. Along with South African champion Penny Heyns, Jones is highly regarded as one of the greatest breaststroke swimmers ever.
Personal
While at Southern Cross Catholic College, Jones used to train at the Redcliffe club in Scarborough, QueenslandScarborough, Queensland
Scarborough is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Region at the northernmost of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia...
, and was coached by Ken Wood
Ken Wood (coach)
Ken Wood is an Australian swimming coach, who has coached many Olympic and World Championship medal-winning swimmers. He is the head coach at the Redcliffe Club at Redcliffe, Queensland, on the northern edge of Brisbane....
. Her training partners included fellow Australian team members, Geoff Huegill
Geoff Huegill
Geoffrey Andrew Huegill , nicknamed Skippy and Skip, is an Australian butterfly swimmer...
and Jessicah Schipper
Jessicah Schipper
Jessicah Lee Schipper OAM is an Australian swimmer. She trained at the Redcliffe Leagues Lawnton club in Brisbane, under veteran coach Ken Wood up until the conclusion of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Schipper now trains under the guidance of Stephan Widmer with the Commercial Swimming Club...
. After her disappointing campaign in Athens, Jones moved to train at the Fortitude Valley Pool in Brisbane, Australia, alongside Libby Lenton
Libby Lenton
Lisbeth "Libby" Constance Trickett OAM is a world record holding and Olympic gold medalist swimmer from Australia. She was a gold medallist at both the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics. She is the world record holder in the short-course 100 metres freestyle...
, under Swiss-born coach Stephan Widmar
Stephan Widmar
Stephan Widmer is a swimming coach for the Chandler Swimming Club and the Australian swimming team.Of Swiss origin, Widmer moved to Australia and succeeded Scott Volkers as the head coach at CSC, which had produced a long line of Australian representatives, including the likes World Champions Susie...
at the Commercial Swimming Club
Commercial Swimming Club
Commercial Swimming Club is a swimming club that is based at the Fortitude Valley Pool in centre of Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of the most successful clubs in Australia and has produced many Olympic swimmers and medalists.- Notable athletes :...
. Following the move, Jones began to speak openly about the depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
and self-esteem issues that had plagued her following her being thrust into the spotlight at such a young 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
Dawn Fraser
Dawn Fraser AO, MBE is an Australian champion swimmer. She is one of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times – in her case the 100 meters freestyle....
, believed Jones had acted immaturely and ungratefully, particularly in her indifferent displays of emotion during post-race interviews and medal ceremonies.
In 2009, Jones became the new face of the WSPA
World Society for the Protection of Animals
The World Society for the Protection of Animals is an international non-profit animal welfare organization and also a federation of such organisations and active in over 150 countries with more than 1000 member societies.- Organization :...
(Australia & New Zealand) anti-whaling campaign.
Career
Jones was selected for the Australian team at just 14 years of age, qualifying in the 100 m breaststroke by winning the event at the Australian Championships in May 2000 in Sydney, ending the international career of former world champion Samantha RileySamantha Riley
Samantha Linette Riley is an Australian breaststroke swimmer of Aboriginal descent of the 1990s who competed for Australia in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, winning three medals...
.
2000 Olympics
She swam a personal best in the final at the Sydney Olympics to claim an unexpected silver medal behind American Megan Quann. She also combined with Dyana CalubDyana Calub
Dyana Calub was an Australian backstroke swimmer of the 2000s, who won the silver medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics....
, Petria Thomas
Petria Thomas
Petria Ann Thomas OAM is an Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist and a winner of 15 national titles. She was born in Lismore, New South Wales and grew up in the nearby town of Mullumbimby....
and Susie O'Neill in the 4×100 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
2001 World Aquatics Championships
rightThe 2001 World Aquatics Championships or the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Fukuoka, Japan between 16 July and 29 July 2001....
in Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
, Japan, and Jones was now one of the established swimmers and expected to win medals, but finished second to China's Luo Xuejuan
Luo Xuejuan
Luo Xuejuan is a female Chinese swimmer, who competed mostly in the breaststroke. She is a former World Record holder in swimming, and in some meet results she is listed as "LUO Xue Juan".-Career:...
. 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
Sarah Ryan
Sarah Michelle Ryan OAM is a former Australian sprint freestyle swimmer, who won relay medals at three consecutive Olympics from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics to the 2004 Athens Olympics, but who was perhaps best known in Australia for her colourful long fingernails.-Career:Coming from Adelaide, South...
, the first time that the United States had been beaten at world or Olympic level in this event, excluding the systemically doped East German and Chinese teams.
In 2002, she claimed her first titles on the international arena, claiming the breaststroke double at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Australia also won the medley relay.
In 2003, Jones set an Australian record in the 200 m individual medley earlier in the year, in an experimental event. Later at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships
2003 World Aquatics Championships
Barcelona, Spain was the host city of the X FINA World Aquatics Championships or the 10th FINA World Championships in Aquatics, which were held from July 12 until July 27, 2003....
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain, she started confidently, setting a world record in the semifinals of the 100 m breaststroke (1:06.37s). However, she succumbed to nerves in the final and came third, with Luo again winning the event. She also achieved a silver in the 200 m breaststroke in Barcelona, behind Amanda Beard
Amanda Beard
Amanda Ray Beard is an American swimmer and a seven-time Olympic medalist . She is a former world record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke ....
in (2:24.33s). She collected a bronze in the medley relay.
In the month leading up to the Athens Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, Jones set a world record (2:22.96) in the 200 m breaststroke in a meet in Brisbane, Australia. This led to high expectations of an even better performance in Athens, as Jones had not been rested prior to swimming the world record. However, it was reclaimed by Beard at the US Olympic trials only a few days later.
2004 Olympics
In Athens, Jones was again the quickest qualifier of the 100 m breaststrokeSwimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 metre breaststroke
The women's 100m breaststroke at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held August 15 & 16, 2004 .-Medalist:-Records:The World and Olympic Records at the start of the event were:-Heats:-Semifinals:...
, after setting an Olympic record (1:06.78) in the semifinals. However, in the final she finished in the bronze position, again behind by Luo Xuejuan. Jones made a poor start off the blocks and was unable to recover. In the 200 m event
Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's 200 metre breaststroke
These are the results of the Women's 200 metre breaststroke, one of sixteen events for female competitors in Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.-Records:-Heat 1:# Jaclyn Pangilinan, – 2:33.38# Eeva Saarinen, – 2:34.17...
, she attempted to take an attacking approach, but faded in the last 50 m and was pipped to the wall by Amanda Beard, winning silver. Australia went on the win the medley relay, giving Jones her first Olympic gold.
Jones' world record in the 100 m breaststroke was broken at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships
2005 World Aquatics Championships
The 2005 World Aquatics Championships or the XI FINA World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 16 to July 31, 2005...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, 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 her to the wall, breaking through for her first win at world or Olympic level. Later in the week, having exorcised her demons, she broke 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 six metres behind. Australia and Jones won the medley relay easily.
For her efforts she was named by Swimming World magazine
Swimming World magazine
Swimming World Magazine is an American-based monthly swimming magazine, that was first published in a magazine format as Junior Swimmer in January of 1960...
as the Female World Swimmer of the Year
Swimming World Swimmers of the Year
The Swimming World Magazine Swimmers of the Year, awarded by the American-based Swimming World Magazine, are a set of awards which are often regarded as being the most prestigious in the sport of swimming...
in 2005.
The changes which occurred in 2005 continued to pay off at the Australian Commonwealth Games Swimming Trials in early 2006 where Jones broke her personal best time in the 50 m (30.85) and took 1.18 seconds off her previous world record in the 200 m breaststroke (2.20:54). She was almost two seconds clear of the then second fastest swimmer in the event's history, Amanda Beard. On Day 5 of the Australian Nationals, Jones also gained a new world record in the 100 m breaststroke final. Jones won the Australian championship in a time of 1:05.71 which lowered the previous mark by 0.49 s.
Jones completed a clean sweep of the breaststroke events (50 m, 100 m and 200 m) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
, the only time this has been achieved in the breaststroke events in the games' history. In the butterfly events (50m, 100 m and 200m) at the 2002 Manchester Games, Petria Thomas
Petria Thomas
Petria Ann Thomas OAM is an Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist and a winner of 15 national titles. She was born in Lismore, New South Wales and grew up in the nearby town of Mullumbimby....
was the first swimmer in Commonwealth Games history to complete a clean sweep. The 50 m events were introduced at the Manchester Games. In the 50 m breaststroke, an event she had only recently begun competing in, she defeated the reigning world champion and world record holder Jade Edmistone
Jade Edmistone
Jade Edmistone is an Australian breaststroke swimmer, who is the former world-record holder in the 50 m breaststroke at both short and long course formats of the event. She is coached by Stephan Widmar at the Commercial Swim Club in Brisbane...
. She later won another gold in the 200 m breaststroke and completed the sweep with the gold medal in the 100 m in a world record time of 1:05.09 – an effort that saw her own world record reduced 0.62 s and was declared "Beamonesque" by aquatics journalist Craig Lord, a reference to Bob Beamon
Bob Beamon
Robert "Bob" Beamon is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico Olympics in 1968, which remained the world record for almost 23 years until it was broken in 1991 by Mike Powell. This is the second longest holding of this record, as...
's legendary long jump at the Mexico City Olympics. A fourth gold medal in world record time in the 4×100 m medley relay with Sophie Edington
Sophie Edington
Sophia Jane Edington is an Australian backstroke and freestyle swimmer.She trained at the Kingscliff ASC club under Greg Salter. After Greg took up an overseas coaching role Sophie moved to Queensland to train under the QAS program from the end of 2008...
, Jessicah Schipper
Jessicah Schipper
Jessicah Lee Schipper OAM is an Australian swimmer. She trained at the Redcliffe Leagues Lawnton club in Brisbane, under veteran coach Ken Wood up until the conclusion of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Schipper now trains under the guidance of Stephan Widmer with the Commercial Swimming Club...
and Libby Lenton
Libby Lenton
Lisbeth "Libby" Constance Trickett OAM is a world record holding and Olympic gold medalist swimmer from Australia. She was a gold medallist at both the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics. She is the world record holder in the short-course 100 metres freestyle...
rounded off her Commonwealth Games.
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
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to train under Rohan Taylor
Rohan Taylor
Rohan Taylor is the performance coach of the Nunawading Swimming Club swimming club based in Melbourne, Australia. Some of his current swimmers include Sarah Katsoulis, Shayne Reese and Leisel Jones. He has previously coached the Shoalhaven Academy, Saddleback Valley Aquatics, Laguna Hills High...
, so that she could live with her fiancé Marty Pask
Marty Pask
Martin "Marty" Pask is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League for the Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs. After his AFL Career was brought to a premature end Pask reached his true level of talent in the Victorian Football League with the Werribee Tigers...
, an 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...
er with the Western Bulldogs
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
who was delisted at the end of 2007. Her dissolution of a successful partnership raised eyebrows and many questioned whether putting her personal life ahead of a proven competitive formula would backfire in the pool.
In early 2008, she won the breaststroke double at the 2008 Australian Swimming Championships
2008 Australian Swimming Championships
The 2008 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships were held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from 22–29 March 2008...
to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
Although missing the World Short Course Championships in Manchester
2008 FINA Short Course World Championships
The 9th FINA Swimming World Championships were held at the Manchester Evening News Arena, in Manchester, England April 9 – April 13 2008....
due to the preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics she broke her own world record over 100 m breaststroke (SC) in 1:03,72 at the Telstra Grand Prix in Canberra.
2008 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 SoniRebecca Soni
Rebecca Soni is an American breaststroke swimmer and three-time Olympic medalist. She currently holds the world record in the 100 and 200 m breaststroke and is a former world-record holder in the 100 and 200 m breaststroke .Soni has won a total of nineteen medals in major...
. While she was the favorite to win in the 200 breaststroke, she was upset by American Rebecca Soni, who won gold in world record time. Jones took the silver. Leisel also won a gold medal in the 4×100m medley relay, with the Australian team breaking the previous world record by three seconds.
Jones was awarded the Telstra Swimmer Of The Year award as part of the year's international all-star team, in Sydney in October 2008.
At the World Cup
2009 FINA Swimming World Cup
The 2009 FINA Swimming World Cup was a series of five short course swimming meets, held in October and November 2009.-Meets:The 2009 World Cup was staged at five venues on three continents, with each meet following a morning heats and evening finals format for all events, with the exception of the...
meeting at Berlin, Germany, Jones set world records in the 100 and 200 m breaststroke (short course). Jones had a low key year and opted out of the World Championships.
Potential 4th Olympics
Jones has confirmed that she is aiming for the 2012 Olympics in London and competed at the Pan Pacific Championships and the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Jones confirmed her place on these teams by winning the 50, 100, and the 200 m breaststrokeBreaststroke
The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...
at the 2010 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships.
At the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
, Jones collected 3 silver and a bronze. She competed in the 50m breaststroke
Breaststroke
The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...
(bronze) 100m breaststroke (silver), 200m breaststroke (silver), and the 4×100 medley relay (silver) events. In all four of events, she was behind the Americans; in the 50 m she was behind Jessica Hardy
Jessica Hardy
Jessica Adele Hardy is an American swimmer who specializes in the breaststroke and freestyle stroke. She currently holds the world record in the 50 m breaststroke and the 100 m breaststroke ....
and fellow Australian Leiston Pickett
Leiston Pickett
Leiston Jane Pickett is an Australian Commonwealth Games gold medalist swimmer. A participant in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Pickett won the 50 m breaststroke ahead of fellow Australian and personal hero Leisel Jones.- External links :* - References :...
and in the 100 and 200 m she was behind Rebecca Soni
Rebecca Soni
Rebecca Soni is an American breaststroke swimmer and three-time Olympic medalist. She currently holds the world record in the 100 and 200 m breaststroke and is a former world-record holder in the 100 and 200 m breaststroke .Soni has won a total of nineteen medals in major...
.
See also
- World record progression 100 metres breaststrokeWorld record progression 100 metres breaststrokeThis is a list of the world record progression in the 100 metres breaststroke. The first world record in long course swimming was recognized by the International Swimming Federation in 1961, while the women's world record times were officially acknowledged in 1958...
- World record progression 200 metres breaststrokeWorld record progression 200 metres breaststrokeThe first world record in the men's 200 metres breaststroke in long course swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation in 1908 and the first world record in the women's 200 metres breaststroke was recognised in 1921...
- List of world records in swimming
- Commonwealth Games records in swimmingCommonwealth Games records in swimmingBelow is a complete list of the Commonwealth Games records in swimming, ratified by the Commonwealth Games Federation . Competition is held in long course pools.-Men's events:-Women's events:...
- List of Australian records in swimming