Aaron Paulson, who was born in Bombay, India, has been swimming competitively for almost 15 years. He started when he was 12 years old and goes by the nickname "Phish," because his friends say he swims like a fish. Paulson became involved with Swimming after two friends asked him to join their local swim team. He says it took him a while to learn how to swim, but credits his competitiveness, hard work and persistence with getting him to swim on such a high level.
Paulson's determination certainly paid off, as he has swam in five Paralympic Games, beginning in the 1992 Barcelona Games up through the 2008 Beijing Games.
Major Achievements:
- 2008: U.S. Paralympic Team member, Swimming - Paralympic Games, Beijing China
- Four-time World Championship Team member ('94, '98, '02, '06)
- 2005: American and Pan American record, SB5 200m breaststroke; second place, 100m breaststroke; third place 200m IM - U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships, Minneapolis, Minn.
- 2004: Member of Paralympic Swimming team - Paralympic Games, Athens, Greece
- 2002: Bronze medal, 100m breaststroke - International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships, Mar del Plata, Argentina
- 2000: Member of U.S. Paralympic Swimming team - Paralympic Games, Sydney, Australia
- 1996: Gold medal, 4x50m freestyle relay and 4x50m medley relay - Paralympic Games, Atlanta, Ga.
- 1992: Member of U.S. Paralympic Swimming team - Paralympic Games, Barcelona, Spain
Paralympic Experience
- 5-time Paralympian; 3-time Paralympic medalist (2 gold, 1 bronze)
- Paralympic Games Beijing 2008, 7th (100m Breaststroke SB5 - Men)
- Paralympic Games Athens 2004, 4th (100m Breaststroke SB5 - Men), 9th (100m Backstroke S7 - Men, 4 x 50m Medley Relay 20 Points - Men)
- Paralympic Games Sydney 2000, (4 x 50m Medley Relay 20 Points - Men), 4th (100m Breaststroke SB5 - Men), 8th (100m Backstroke S7 - Men), 10th (4 x 100m Medley Relay 34 Points - Men), 11th (200m Medley SM7 - Men)
- Paralympic Games Atlanta 1996, (100m Backstroke S7 - Men), gold (4 x 50m Freestyle Relay S1-6 - Men, 4 x 50m Medley Relay S1-6 - Men), bronze (100m Breaststroke SB5 - Men), 12th (50m Butterfly S7 - Men), 14th (200m Medley SM7 - Men)
- Paralympic Games Barcelona 1992, 5th (100m Backstroke S7 - Men, 100m Breaststroke SB5 - Men), 7th (200m Medley SM7 - Men)
World Championships Experience
- Most recent: 2016 – 21th (Kayak single KL2 200m - Men)
- Years of participation: Kayak single KL2 200m - Men 2016; 100m Backstroke S7 - Men 1998, 2006; 100m Breaststroke SB5 - Men 1998, 2002, 2006; 4 x 50m Medley Relay 20 Points - Men 2006
- Medals: 3 (1 silver, 2 bronze)
- Silver – 1998 (100m Backstroke S7 - Men)
- Bronze – 2002 (100m Breaststroke SB5 - Men); 1998 (100m Breaststroke SB5 - Men)