Kim Pham
5 September 2016: University of Canberra student Matthew Haanappel is counting his lucky stars after he initially missed out on qualifying for the 2016 Paralympic team. As fate would have it, the 22-year-old swimmer was at the top of the 'emergency list' and was officially selected in May to represent Australia.
"I was disappointed I missed out on making the team but I was very lucky and had a few things roll my way to get selected in the end," he said.
Haanappel won a gold medal in the men's 4 x100m freestyle relay (34 points) and a bronze in the men's 4 x 100m medley relay (34 points) at the London Paralympics. He has set his sights on a gold medal in Rio, preferably from an individual event.
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Sports management student and swimmer Matthew Haanappel will compete in at least five events at the Rio Paralympics. Photo: Australian Paralympic Committee.
The sports management student will compete in the 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle races, 100m backstroke and potentially 50m butterfly.
He will also be part of the team for the 4 x 100m freestyle relay and the recently re-included mixed 4 x 50m (20 points) relay.
"The purpose of doing so many events at one meet is to keep the momentum going. For me, it's much better mentally to keep around the water even if it's just the heats," he said.
Haanappel has cerebral palsy which affects the right side of his body particularly his hand. His fine motor skills are affected which means things like cutting up food, tying his shoes and getting dressed are difficult for him but when he is in the pool he feels invincible.
"It feels great being in the water, to be weightless and totally in control of your body going through the water is an amazing experience," he said.
Haanappel comes from a large sporting family. His father Shane played international level basketball, his brother Adam is an international tennis player and his cousin is retired Australian cyclist Cadel Evans.
"There's a lot of support doing high level sport and understanding what's required. If you have those sorts of people around you, you'll be able to succeed," he said.
"I don't just want to do my family proud but also the people behind the scenes like coaches and support team. It's not just you behind the blocks there in Rio, it's all those people who have helped along the way and got you there."
Haanappel is interested in a career in sports management once he retires from competitive swimming.
"I guess the reason why I'm studying sports management comes from my positive experience working with sports administrators," he said.
"The sports management degree at the University of Canberra is one of the best in the country so it was a no brainer for me when it came to where I wanted to study."
The 2016 Rio Paralympics start on 7 September.
Read about some of our Paralympic Games' representatives as well as our Olympians:
Reardon ready to bring home gold
Gracie gears up for Olympic debut
Roberts returns for second Olympics
