Marayke Jonkers is the longest serving female in the Australian Paralympic swimming squad and is a role model to all those around her. She has held the world record for the 100m butterfly and has broken more than 60 Australian records in breaststroke, the individual medley, freestyle and butterfly.

When she was eight months old she was involved in a car accident, leaving her a paraplegic. By age two, she could swimacross the pool unaided and by the age of 12 she was representing Queensland and then Australia. In 2004, Marayke realised her Paralympic dreams, winning bronze medals in the 50m breaststroke and the 150m IM.

In 2008, after a difficult preparation period which saw illness, injuries, new coaches and learning her main event was not on the program in Beijing, Marayke trained hard and won a silver medal in the 150m individual medley, beating her qualifying time by 11 seconds.

In 2007, she was named Cosmopolitan magazine’s Fun, Fearless Female of the Year. She has also founded Sporting Dreams, a foundation helping athletes with disabilities achieve fun, fitness and personal development through sport. Marayke plans to continue her passion and would love to compete at the World Championships and in London.