Blake Cochrane

Personal

Blake John Cochrane born on 25 January 1991. Cochrane's character is such that he has turned physical adversity into a strength. He has achievements in both academics and sports, but it is the latter that marks his strength of character and competitive nature. He commenced soccer at the age of five and played for over 10 years as a striker and later in the position as goalie winning club recognition of his skills. In high school, he played various sports including representing the Southern Cross Catholic College on a Gaelic Football sports tour to Ireland. He developed an interest in scuba-diving as well as snow skiing—he has a strong interest in both team and individual sports across the board.

However swimming has always been a part of his life. His natural ability was recognised early when regularly winning races at various school and club level swim meets. Early school based achievements include:

Cochrane is in process of completing a Bachelor in Exercise and Clinical Science but has deferred his study for 2012 in order to train full-time for the London 2012 Paralympics. He is a member of an elite swimming squad training out of the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Swimming

It was not until his selection by Swimming Australia as an AWD (Athlete with a Disability) team competitor at the Arafura Games in Darwin, 2007, that his potential was realised. Some early sport focused achievements include:

Cochrane went on to win a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 event.

After Beijing 2008, Cochrane continued to perform strongly in the pool. He was one of the stars of the 2009 World Short Course Championships, winning two gold medals and one silver. He has been honoured with Blue awards by both University of Queensland, 2010 and the University of the Sunshine Coast, 2011. He blitzed the field at the 2011 Para Pan Pacific Championships in Canada, winning five gold medals and breaking the world record in the 100m breaststroke. 2010 was an especially prolific year for Blake as he won gold in the 100m breaststroke at the World Championships, before snaring a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. In 2011 he won Swimming Australia’s Swimmer with a Disability of the Year Award. During the 2012 Australian Swimming Nationals he again set a new world record in the 100m breaststroke (SB8) final. Competing at the 2012 London Games, he competed in five events and won two gold medals in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 and Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle 34 points.

At the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, he broke the world record in winning the gold medal in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7.

Competing at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, he won the silver medal in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 and a bronze medal in the Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points. He finished fourth in Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay 34pts, fifth in the Men's 50m Freestyle S8 and Men's 100m Freestyle S8.

As of 2015, he is coached by Jan Cameron at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won the silver medal in Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7. He also competed in Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle (34 points) and finished fifth, seventh in Men's 400m Freestyle S8 but didn't progress to the finals in Men's 50m Freestyle S8 and Men's 100m Freestyle S8.

In preparation for Rio, Cochrane coaches states “Blake never thought he had any disability ... and never looked back.”

Recognition

In 2011, he was a nominee for The Age's Sport Performer Award in the Performer with a Disability category. He has been awarded the 'Graham Sherman Sunshine Coast Senior Sports Star of the Year' for 2013. He was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."