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Tadhg Slattery

Tadhg is from Johannesburg, where he swam with coaches Dean Price and his brother Greg Price. He competed as part of the South African Paralympic swimming team at six Paralympic games.

His first games in 1992 gave him his first Paralympic gold medal in the 100m breaststroke in a world record time as well as finishing fourth in his heat in the 50m freestyle, eighth in the final of the 50m butterfly, seventh in his heat of both the 100m and 400m freestyle.

In the 1996 Summer Paralympics he finished second in the 100m breaststroke behind Kasper Engel of the Netherlands who set a new world record, he also competed in the 50m freestyle finishing 28th in the heats, 50m butterfly where he finished ninth in the heats just missing the final and finished fourth in the final of the 200m medley.

At his third games in 2000 he again won silver in the 100m breaststroke behind Kasper and added a second in the 200m medley behind the new world record set by Sascha Kindred of Great Britain, as well as finishing seventh in the 50m butterfly.

Tadhg won gold again in 2004 Summer Paralympic Games in the 100m breaststroke, beating his old rival Kasper Engel he also competed in the 200m medley finishing sixth but could not make the final of the 50m butterfly.

His fifth Games in 2008 led to his first bronze medal, in his favoured 100m breaststroke and finished last in his heat in the 200m individual Medley.

And his final sixth games in 2012 led to his fifth place. He is now retired from international swimming. He loves water and has been swimming for 37 years. He is now a full-time swimming coach for the disabled at the Mandeville Swimming Club in Johannesburg

Slattery to carry SA flag

16 September 2008

Tadhg Slattery will carry the flag for South Africa in Wednesday’s closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Beijing.

 The 34-year-old veteran of five Paralympics won a bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke in Beijing, and celebrated it as if he had won in a world record.

 But what was significant - and instrumental in his selection as the flag-bearer - was a comment by Natalie du Toit soon after he won the medal.

 She called Slattery "the heart and soul of the team", and many other athletes referred to the man who is deaf and has cerebral palsy as someone who constantly lifted the spirits of the team during an arduous 11-day campaign at the games.

 He developed a reputation for outlandish hairstyles during previous Paralympics, but this time, he went the shaven-headed route - perhaps to save on the weight of a swimming cap.

He is a former world-record holder in his SB5 category, with the 1:32.14 he set in 2002.

He announced his retirement after both the Sydney and the Athens Paralympics, but was back for more in Beijing, and has been honoured for his contribution to the Paralympic movement in South African as well as to the success of the team at the Beijing Games.