St Patrick’s College Sutherland student Alex Tuckfield has swum into the history books after winning bronze in the Men’s 400m Freestyle S9 at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

In what was his Paralympics debut, the 16-year-old recorded a personal best time of 4:13:54 to finish on the podium.

Tuckfield, one of Australia’s youngest athletes at the Games, edged out countryman Brenden Hall for the bronze while fellow Aussie and Tuckfield’s training partner, Martin William, claimed the gold medal.

The performance caps off a meteoric rise for the former St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Como student, who only began swimming at the age of 10.

Eyes on the prize

In the heats, the Year 11 student announced himself as a genuine medal chance when he swam the fastest qualifying time of 4:14:26, beating his previous personal best by 1.8 seconds.

In a competitive final that saw the Paralympic record fall, Tuckfield swam faster again to win bronze behind William and silver medallist Ugo Didier from France.

Tuckfield, who has cerebral palsy, also competed in the Men’s 50m Freestyle S9, finishing 7th in his heat.

The Sutherland Shire local said the Tokyo experience is one that he’ll never forget.

“I honestly didn’t think that I’d win a medal in my first event, at my first international meet, in my first international race,” Tuckfield said.

“I’d been training these past weeks the best I ever have been so I knew I could post something very good.”

“But still… I touch the wall, I turn around and I look at the board and I’m just shocked” – Alex Tuckfield

The St Pat’s student was one of Australia’s youngest athletes at the Games

Tuckfield says one of the most special things about his time in Japan …