Jesse Reynolds is a Para swimmer and former representative Wheelchair basketball player from Hamilton.

​

Reynolds took up swimming at age 11. He was a natural in the water. Only two years later, on his international debut, he grabbed a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle S9 at the Melbourne 2009 Paralympic Youth Games.

​

Reynolds made his senior debut for New Zealand at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Canada, placing sixth in the 400m freestyle S9.

​

Reynolds went on to have four fourth-place finishes at the 2015 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships in the USA. He finished fifth in the 400 metre Freestyle S9 at the Glasgow 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships.

​

Reynolds competed in his first Paralympic Games at the Rio 2016 Paralympics. He swam a personal best time in the 100 metre Butterfly S9 final and finished seventh in the 100 metre Backstroke S9 in a time of 1:05.57, shattering his previous personal best time. Jesse found the experience of his very first Paralympic Games final to be exhilarating.

​

Reynolds was part of New Zealand’s most successful Paralympic team ever. The team of 31 Paralympians in Rio broke three world records, secured 21 medals (9 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze) and finished first in the world per capita and 13th in the world overall on the medal table (previous best: 16th). 

​

Reynolds was part of the New Zealand Commonwealth Games Team that competed in the Gold Coast in 2018. Jesse had three outstanding swims, including missing a bronze medal by the narrowest of margins on two occasions.

​

Reynolds made his second Paralympic appearance at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He competed in four events and set a Personal Best time of 1:04.58 in the Men’s 100m Backstroke S9.

​

Reynolds was part of the NZ Team which went to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, winning silver in the 100m backstroke S9.

​

​

Sources - 

1. Paralympic Team New Zealand