Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Born | Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia | 8 May 1962||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
Country | Australia | ||||||||||||||
Sport | Paralympic swimming | ||||||||||||||
Disability class | S6 | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Alastair Smales was born on 8 May 1962, in Australia. He lost the use of his legs in 1992 becoming a paraplegic after a four-wheel drive he was fixing slipped off a jack and fell on him. Due to this injury, Smales is now classified a S6 wheelchair grade in swimming competitions.
Smales has represented Australia in three consecutive Paralympics in swimming, held a world record at the IPC Swimming World Championships Mar de Plata in 2002 and ranked 1 in his classification. Smales swimming career started in 1996 and ended in 2004 due to his age and inability to keep up with the other swimmers. He was a member of the Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association and trained at the Redcliffe Leagues Lawnton Club.
After retiring from swimming, Smales pursued a career in air traffic control.