Swimmer Jay Dohnt believes that adversity often sets people back in life but it inspires him to go further. He sees himself as a fighter who is motivated and competitive - the perfect qualities for any athlete who wants to excel at their chosen discipline.

The Beijing Paralympics are the highlight of Jay’s swimming career to date. Jay entered the Games ranked fourth in the world with the goal of securing a medal which he did, winning bronze in the 400m freestyle. He was rewarded in 2009 when he was inducted into the Swimming South Australia Hall of Fame.

Jay suffered from the side effects of meningococcal disease when he was 13 years old, losing both of his legs and his fingers on one hand. The near death experience led Jay to dream about going to the Paralympic Games while he was in hospital, shaping the course of his swimming career.

Not only is Jay content to swim in the pool, he also plans to one day cross the famed English Channel. He was the only contestant in the men’s freestyle multi-disability section of the 2006 Australian Open Water Swimming Titles in St Kilda.

When he’s not swimming, Jay loves to body-board and has gotten into his fair share of trouble on the beach. He remembers one such instance when he and some friends were body-boarding at night and became separated. He walked the length of the beach on his knees looking for them and unable to find them, climbed many flights of stairs until he knocked on a stranger’s door and tried to call them. Unbeknownst to Jay, his panicked friends thought he had drowned and had called the police who sent two search and rescue helicopters, a boat and five police cars to look for him. Jay has also developed a passion for golf and takes regular golf lessons to further pursue this interest.

His preparation for London 2012 was initially disrupted by a serious shoulder injury, leaving Jay unable to compete for much of 2010. But he recovered to win a silver medal in the 400m freestyle at the 2011 Para Pan-Pacs and bronze in the same event at the 2011 Nationals.