Create an experience with Brenden Hall

Since making his international swimming debut at the 2007 Arafura Games, Hall has competed in five Paralympic Games, three Commonwealth Games and three Pan Pacific Para Championships. Six years after being the youngest male on the Dolphins swimming team at the 2008 Beijing Games, Hall was awarded an OAM for service to sport as a gold medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. In a career spanning more than a decade, the Queenslander has amassed an impressive total of 17 gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals across his international events.

Brenden's sporting journey

Waking up in a hospital at the age of six, Brenden was faced with doctors and his parents letting him know he no longer had a right leg. After developing complications after contracting chicken pox, Brenden's right leg was amputated and 70% of his hearing was lost. Of course being six years of age Brenden shrugged it off and presumed it would grow back just like he had seen many lizards tails do. 

Initially being confined to wheelchair after his amputation, Brenden made it his goal to get back into the water and make it in the Junior Development Squad just like he had done before his amputation. Once Brenden was fitted with a prosthetic leg, no one has been able to stop him - he didn't care how he walked as long as he could. After competing successfully at local and state swim meets, Brenden went on to make his international swimming debut at the 2007 Arafura Games before becoming the youngest male on the Australian swimming team at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Brenden competed in the Men's 400 m Freestyle S9, broke the Paralympics record in his heat and then came fifth in the final. Following on from his first taste of international competition, he went on to win gold medals in the Men's 400m Freestyle S9, Men's 5 km Open Water S1-S10, Men's 4 x 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points and the Men's 4 x 100 m Medley Relay 34 points at the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven. In 2011, at the Queensland Swimming Championships he broke world records in the 800 m and 1500 m Freestyle events and still maintains these to this day. Brenden then went on to compete at the 2012 London Games where he won two gold medals in the Men's 400 m Freestyle S9 and Men's 4 x 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points and a bronze medal in the Men's 4 x 100 m Medley Relay 34 points. He also participated in the S9 class of the Men's 100 m Backstroke, 100 m Butterfly S9, 100 m Freestyle and 50 m Freestyle events – as well as the 200 m Individual Medley SM9. Next up was the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Brenden won two gold medals in the Men's 400m Freestyle S9 and Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay (34 points) and went on to break the world record to win the Men's 400m Freestyle S9.

In 2014 during the Australia Day Honours, Brenden was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympics Games. 

At the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships, Brenden won gold medals in the Men's 100 m Backstroke S9 and Men's 400 m Freestyle S9 and bronze medals in the Men's 100 m Freestyle S9 and Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points. He finished fifth in the Men's 50m Freestyle S9, fifth in the Men's 100m Butterfly S9 and sixth in the Men's 200m Individual Medley SM9. This same year, Brenden received the Queensland Athlete with a Disability award for the third time. 

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics (his third Paralympics), he won the gold medal in the Men's 400 m Freestyle S9, silver medal in the Men's 100 m Freestyle S9 and bronze medal in the Men's 100 m Backstroke S9. He also competed in the Men's 100m Butterfly S9, Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay (34 points) Men's 200m Individual Medley SM9 and Men's 50m Freestyle S9. 

In 2018 Brenden competed at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games coming home with a gold in 100m S9 Backstroke and bronze in 100m S9 Freestyle. Brenden then went to compete at the 2018 Para Pan Pacific Championships where he took home the gold in the 400m S9 Freestyle.

Brenden has no desire to hang up his togs yet, suggesting the fire is still burning as much as it did when he first jumped onto the international stage. Outside of swimming Brenden has a degree in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Queensland and is currently studying his Bachelor of Physiotherapy. You'll also see Brenden patrolling Kings Beach on the Sunshine Coast as a volunteer lifesaver.