Tyler
Sharp

Athlete Bio#

Height

5’11”

Age

Hometown

Olympia

Education

Though Tyler Sharp has been athletic all his life, he is relatively new to swimming. In his junior year of high school, Sharp’s friends convinced him to go out for the school swim team, at which point he discovered a remarkable talent. Even with just one full arm and less than two years’ swimming experience, Sharp’s speed in the pool made him an instant standout with the Evergreen Swim Club in Olympia, Wash. Sharp excels at sprint distances, in which leg power and fast stroke turnover are more important and strong underwater catch is less critical than in longer distances. He takes faster strokes than able-bodied competitors and completes more strokes per length of the pool to keep pace in his primary events, the 100-meter breaststroke and 100m butterfly.

Classification: S9

Career Highlights

Current U.S. record-holder in his class (S9) in 200-yard freestyle (short course)
2013 Spring Can-Am: 4th place in 50m backstroke, 5th place in 50m butterfly and 200m IM, 6th place in 100m butterfly, 8th place in 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke
2012 Speedo Can-Am: 3rd place in 50- and 100m freestyle, 200m breaststroke and 200m IM, 4th place in 100m freestyle, 5th place in 100m breaststroke

Though Tyler Sharp has been athletic all his life, he is relatively new to swimming. In his junior year of high school, Sharp’s friends convinced him to go out for the school swim team, at which point he discovered a remarkable talent. Even with just one full arm and less than two years’ Swimming experience, Sharp’s speed in the pool made him an instant standout with the Evergreen Swim Club in Olympia, Wash. Sharp excels at sprint distances, in which leg power and fast stroke turnover are more important and strong underwater catch is less critical than in longer distances. He takes faster strokes than able-bodied competitors and completes more strokes per length of the pool to keep pace in his primary events, the 100-meter breaststroke and 100m butterfly.

At his first international swim meet, the 2012 Speedo Can-Am Para Swimming Championships, Sharp attempted to qualify for a U.S. Paralympics National Team spot and was just seconds away from his goal. At the 2013 Spring Can-Am in Minneapolis, Minn., Sharp had a strong enough performance to make the U.S. Paralympics Resident Swimming Program, which will train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs full-time leading up to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Sharp has been a versatile athlete all of his life, having competed in Little League Baseball, basketball, soccer, snow sports and wakeboarding throughout his youth. He was also a member of the marching band at Capital High School in Olympia, and he competes annually at the Western Amputee Open Golf Tournament. In his free time, Sharp enjoys skiing, snowboarding, playing soccer and mountain biking.