In Durban South Africa at the IPC Swimming World Championships, Shelley Rogers stamped herself as one of the world’s top two 200m Individual Medley swimmers.
Since the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, Para-swimming has been part of the Paralympic program, with athletes competing in the same Olympic events as able-bodied competitors – backstroke, breastroke, butterfly, freestyle and medley events.
The same rules are followed with a few modifications, such as an optional platform or in-water starts for some races, and the use of lights, signals or ‘tappers’ for swimmers with a hearing or vision impairment.
The classification under which Shelley Rogers competed is defined in part as follows: S7, SB6, SM7 – swimmers with co-ordination difficulties or limb loss down one side of the body.
Her specialty events were the 200m Individual Medley, 100m Backstroke, and the 50m Butterfly.
These were the events in which she was selected for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, placing 4th, 5th and 6th respectively. Shelley comfortably won her individual medley heat, immediately qualifying her for the final.
The fact that she was beaten by swimmers from the mighty giants of USA and China, to place her 4th, puts perspective on her standout performance in Beijing.
She also placed 6th in the 50m Butterfly – with only 1.5 seconds between Shelley and the bronze medallist.
Two years earlier, in Durban South Africa at the IPC Swimming World Championships, Shelley Rogers stamped herself as one of the world’s top two 200m Individual Medley swimmers.
She won a silver medal, but it took a world record by her long-time rival Erin Popovich to beat her.
Her elite level of international performance was consistent during that period, claiming 4th in the 50m Butterfly and 5th in the 100m Backstroke.
Shelley Rogers has been inducted into the Swimming SA Hall of Fame.
