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Like his now retired older brother Sam, Ollie has muscular dystrophy, but does not let that stop him from setting benchmarks in the pool with every event he participates in.
Hynd's first major international meet was the 2011 IPC Swimming European Championships in Berlin, Germany, and he returned at the 2014 Euros in Eindhoven to successfully defend his 200m individual medley SM8 title and win the 400m freestyle S8. He also swam to a silver and bronze in Berlin.
He stormed to gold at London 2012 and remembers sharing the podium with his brother as one of his greatest moments.
In 2013, Hynd claimed double gold at his first World Championships in Montreal, Canada, in 200m individual medley and 400m freestyle. That was in addition to being handed an MBE from the Queen of Great Britain.
In 2014 Hynd set a new world mark in the 200m freestyle. But that was not the record he really had his eye on.
In one of the most memorable moments of the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Great Britain, Hynd finally broke his brother's five year old world record in the 400m freestyle. He went on to break it once again in July 2016, just two months before the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, as well as picking up three more European titles earlier in the year.
The stage was set for Hynd to take glory in Brazil. And that he did. With two gold medals - both in world record times - Hynd claimed the 200m individual medley and 400m freestyle titles. In the 400m freestyle, he overcame China's defending champion Yinan Wang in a dominant display that left his competitors stunned.
His mother Helen is one of his biggest fans and carried the Paralympic torch for London 2012.
Photo Gallery
Biography
Impairment information
Further personal information
Sport specific information
International debut
General interest
He was named Young Sportsperson of the Year of 2014 at the Nottingham Post Sports Awards in England. (nottinghampost.com, 08 Nov 2014)
In 2013 he was appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE]. (oliverhynd.co.uk, 19 Feb 2013)
At the 2012 Nottinghamshire Sports Awards, he was named winner in the Achievement of the Year category. (nottinghamshire.gov.uk, 14 Nov 2012)
He had been competing in the S8 class since 2011, but in March 2018 he was reclassified to S9 by the International Paralympic Committee [IPC], which caused him to withdraw from the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. He appealed the decision and was briefly able to return to S8, but the reclassification was ultimately upheld and he had to return to S9. In April 2019 he described the previous year as "the worst of [his] life" and said he considered quitting the sport. "I came really close to quitting swimming. There were days I didn't want to get out of bed. Doing anything was a real challenge and over the last year I have had to find myself and get that self-belief back." (bbc.com, 24 Apr 2019; swimswam.com, 30 Jun 2018; bbc.com, 23 Mar 2018)
HUNGRY FOR MEDALS
He was not satisfied with his overall medal tally at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, despite winning two gold medals and one silver. "My goal was three gold and five medals, but I got a silver and came fourth twice so it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. The goalposts haven't really changed going forward. It's just about setting goals that are exciting, that's what I want to do in Tokyo [2020 Paralympic Games]." (bbc.co.uk, 31 Mar 2017)
Results
| Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 100 m Butterfly S8 | Heat 3 | 2012-08-30 | 4 | |
| Men's 400 m Freestyle S8 | Final Round | 2012-08-31 | 2 | |
| Men's 400 m Freestyle S8 | Heat 2 | 2012-08-31 | 2 | |
| Men's 100 m Backstroke S8 | Final Round | 2012-09-04 | 3 | |
| Men's 100 m Backstroke S8 | Heat 2 | 2012-09-04 | 3 | |
| Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM8 | Heat 3 | 2012-09-05 | 1 | |
| Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM8 | Final Round | 2012-09-05 | 1 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 100 m Backstroke S8 | Heat 2 | 2013-08-12 | 3 | |
| Men's 100 m Backstroke S8 | Final 1 | 2013-08-12 | 3 | |
| Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM8 | Final 1 | 2013-08-13 | 1 | |
| Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM8 | Heat 2 | 2013-08-13 | 1 | |
| Men's 400 m Freestyle S8 | Final 1 | 2013-08-14 | 1 | |
| Men's 400 m Freestyle S8 | Heat 1 | 2013-08-14 | 1 | |
| Men's 4x100 m Medley 34pts | Final 1 | 2013-08-18 | 9999 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM8 | Final 1 | 2015-07-15 | 1 | |
| Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM8 | Heat 2 | 2015-07-15 | 1 | |
| Men's 400 m Freestyle S8 | Heat 2 | 2015-07-17 | 1 | |
| Men's 400 m Freestyle S8 | Final 1 | 2015-07-17 | 1 | |
| Men's 100 m Backstroke S8 | Heat 2 | 2015-07-18 | 3 | |
| Men's 100 m Backstroke S8 | Final 1 | 2015-07-18 | 3 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 400 m Freestyle S8 | Final Round | 2016-09-08 | 1 | |
| Men's 400 m Freestyle S8 | Heat 2 | 2016-09-08 | 1 | |
| Men's 100 m Freestyle S8 | Final Round | 2016-09-11 | 4 | |
| Men's 100 m Freestyle S8 | Heat 1 | 2016-09-11 | 3 | |
| Men's 100 m Backstroke S8 | Heat 2 | 2016-09-13 | 1 | |
| Men's 100 m Backstroke S8 | Final Round | 2016-09-13 | 2 | |
| Men's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts | Final Round | 2016-09-14 | 4 | |
| Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM8 | Heat 2 | 2016-09-17 | 1 | |
| Men's 200 m Individual Medley SM8 | Final Round | 2016-09-17 | 1 |
