Despite only having recently burst onto the scene, Matthew Haanappel has set his sights for the top of Paralympic sport. Heading into his first Paralympic Games in London, he was hungry for gold and achieved his dream as part of the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team. And if gold wasn’t enough, the 18-year-old helped the medley relay team to a bronze medal to finish his debut Games campaign.

While he didn’t win an individual medal in London, Matthew performed strongly in the 100m freestyle and backstroke, finishing fifth in both races, finished sixth in the 50m freestyle and seventh in the 200m individual medley.

With promising performances in the lead up to the Games, including three gold medals, two silver and three bronze medals at the 2011 National Underage Championships and silver in the 50m butterfly at the 2010 German Nationals, the teenager’s form is likely to improve on the road to Rio.

Born with cerebral palsy, Matthew loves watching Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin play in the AFL, rating the Hawthorn forward as his favourite sports star. He relaxes by listening to music and watching movies, and particularly enjoyed seeing ‘From Paris with Love’ starring John Travolta. If Matthew had to pick a holiday destination in the world he would most want to be, Vanuatu places right at the top of the list.