Jessica Ashwood

Jessica Ashwood
Ashwood at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships
Personal information
Full nameJessica Ashwood
Nickname
"Jess"
National team Australia
Born (1993-04-28) 28 April 1993
Darlinghurst, New South Wales
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubChandler
CoachVince Raleigh[1]
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing Australia
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×200 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
2015 Kazan 400 m freestyle
Commonwealth Games
2018 Gold Coast 800 m freestyle

Jessica Ashwood (born 28 April 1993) is a retired Australian swimmer. She won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Ashwood was born in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, on 28 April 1993.[2] She is from the suburb of Padstow,[3] She attended Regina Coeli Primary School before going to high school at MLC School.[2]

Ashwood was diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 13. After retiring from swimming in 2018, she underwent spinal fusion, which corrected her spinal alignment and increased her height by 10 cm.[4]

Career

At the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, Ashwood finished fifteenth in the 1500 m freestyle.[5]

Ashwood qualified for the 2012 Olympics in London. She competed in the 800 m freestyle and finish twentieth.[2]

Ashwood competed at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, finishing tenth in the 800 m freestyle.[6]

In February 2014, Ashwood competed at the 2014 New South Wales Championships. She went 8:19.76 in the 800 m freestyle, breaking Kylie Palmer's Australian record of 8:22.81 from 2008.[7]

In July 2014, Ashwood competed at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She placed sixth in the 800 m freestyle with a time of 8:29.32.[8] She finished ninth in the 400 m freestyle and missed the final.[9]

In August 2014, Ashwood competed at the Pan Pacific Championships on the Gold Coast. She came tenth in the 400 and 800 m freestyle events, with times of 4:12.08 and 8:34.62, respectively.[10][11]

In June 2015, at the Swimming Australia Grand Prix in Townsville, Ashwood went 15:56.86 in the 1500 m freestyle. This broke Melissa Gorman's national record of 16:01.53 from 2010.[12]

In August 2015, Ashwood competed at the World Championships in Kazan. Her first event was the 400 m freestyle, where she recorded 4:03.34 to win the bronze medal. This broke Palmer's Australian record of 4:03.40 from 2012.[13] Ashwood then competed in the 1500 m freestyle, where in the heats, she posted a time of 15:56.52 to lower her own national record and qualify third-fastest for the final.[14] In the final, Ashwood improved her record to 15:52.17 and finished fifth. Her next event was the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. Swimming the second leg, Ashwood split 1:58.32, contributing to an overall time of 7:51.02 which placed Australia sixth.[15] Ashwood's final event was the 800 m freestyle, where she recorded 8:18.41 to finish fourth, 0.26 seconds slower than the bronze medalist.[16] With her performance, Ashwood yet again broke her own national record.[17]

In June 2016, Ashwood competed at the Pro Swim Series in Santa Clara, posting a time of 8:18.14 in the 800 m freestyle to set another Australian record.[17] Her mark stood until 2018.[18]

In August 2016, Ashwood competed at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Her first event was the 400 m freestyle, where went 4:05.68 to finish seventh.[19] She then swam the heats of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. She was replaced by Emma McKeon in the final; Australia eventually won the silver medal.[20] Ashwood’s final event was the 800 m freestyle, where she finished fifth in a time of 8:20.32.[21]

At the 2017 Australian Championships in Brisbane, Ashwood finished second in the 800 m freestyle with a time of 8:25.61, qualifying for the world championships.[22] She later withdrew from the team, however, with the intention of extending her career.[23]

Ashwood then competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. She won the silver medal in the 800 m freestyle with a time of 8:27.60.[24] She then finished fifth in the 400 m freestyle, recording a time of 4:10.32.[25]

Later in 2018, Ashwood retired from swimming.[4]


References

  1. ^ Lord, Craig (26 November 2015). "Emily Seebohm Riding Golden wave To Rio with a 1:59 Australian 200 Back S/C Record". Swimvortex. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "London 2012 - Jessica Ashwood". Australia: Australian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Australia Post backing our Games athletes". Where I Live. Canterbury-Bankstown Express. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  4. ^ a b Phil Lutton (25 May 2019). "Standing tall: Jessica Ashwood is finally on the straight and narrow". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  5. ^ "Heats Results" (PDF). Omega Timing. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Heats Results" (PDF). Omega Timing. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  7. ^ Pamela Roberts (28 February 2014). "Plenty Of World's Best Times Swam In Australia, Including Women's 800 Free National Record". Swimming World. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  8. ^ Jason Marsteller (28 July 2014). "Commonwealth Games: Chad Le Clos Crushes 100 Fly". Swimming World. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  9. ^ Patrick Horan; Sam Clench (30 July 2014). "Commonwealth Games 2014 Day 6: Swimming, athletics, hockey, boxing and much more with plenty of Aussies in action". The Advertiser. Newscorp Australia. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  10. ^ "400m Freestyle". Australia Swimming. 23 August 2014. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  11. ^ "800 Freestyle Results". Australia Swimming. 23 August 2014. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  12. ^ Taylor Brien (19 June 2015). "Jessica Ashwood Sets New Australian Record at the Grand Prix in Townsville". Swimming World. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  13. ^ Robert Gibbs (2 August 2015). "Jessica Ashwood Sets Australian and Oceanian Mark in Women's 400 Free". SwimSwam. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  14. ^ "Katie Ledecky breaks her own 1,500m freestyle world record at swimming world championships". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  15. ^ "16th FINA World Championships - Women's 4×200m Freestyle Relay Final Results" (PDF). Omega Timing. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  16. ^ "16th FINA World Championships - Women's 800m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  17. ^ a b James Sutherland (5 June 2016). "Jessica Ashwood Breaks Own Aussie 800 Free Record In Santa Clara". SwimSwam. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Australia claim Pan Pacific mixed relay gold as Cate Campbell records fastest ever relay split". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  19. ^ "2016 Olympic Games - Women's 400m Freestyle Final Results". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  20. ^ James Sutherland (10 August 2016). "Day 5 Relay Lineups: Americans Go With Dirado On 4×200 Free". SwimSwam. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  21. ^ "2016 Olympic Games - Women's 800m Freestyle Final Results". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  22. ^ "2017 Australian Championships - Women's 800m Freestyle Results". swimming.org.au. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  23. ^ Retta Race (13 April 2017). "Ashwood Latest Aussie To Withdraw From Budapest". SwimSwam. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  24. ^ Jason Tillotson (9 April 2018). "Australian Women Pull Off Sweep in 800 Free". Swimming World. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  25. ^ James Sica (10 April 2018). "Ariarne Titmus Smashes Australian, Commonwealth Games Record in 400 Free". Swimming World. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
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