 Kingsman in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Paul James Kingsman |
| Born | (1967-06-15)15 June 1967 (age 58) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft11+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 85 kg (187 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Sport | Swimming |
Event | Backstroke |
| College team | UC Berkeley (1986–1989) |
Medal record | |
Paul James KingsmanMBE (born 15 June 1967) is aswimmer and Olympic medalist from New Zealand. He participated at the1988 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in200 metre backstroke. He also competed at the1984 Summer Olympics.[1]
The 21-year-old went into the 1988 Olympic Games the 20th fastest backstroker in the world over 200m. He qualified for the final and raced in lane one. Kingsman's time earned him a bronze medal in the final few strokes. His time of 2:00.48, which set a new Commonwealth record,[2] is currently the longest standing national record in New Zealand swimming at 20 years (broken in 2008 by Kent Basset).[3] Kingsman was New Zealand's first male Olympic medalist in an individual swimming event.[4]
Over his swimming career, in addition to his Olympic medal, Kingsman also earned four Commonwealth Games medals and twelve New Zealand national senior titles.[1] Kingsman was trained during his entire New Zealand career by coachHilton Brown. When he was 15, he qualified for the 1982 Commonwealth Games team, making the 200m final at Brisbane, Queensland. At the time, he was the youngestKiwi to ever compete in the Commonwealth Games.[5]
At age 17, he joinedGary Hurring in representing New Zealand at the 1984 Summer Olympics swimming backstroke, and he finished tenth in the 100m. By the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Kingsman's performances bettered enough to earn him two silver medals, in the 100m and 200m backstroke. That year, he also earned a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley, where his swimming developed a sharply competitive edge under the tutelage of coachNort Thornton.
Kingsman closed his career by taking a bronze and a silver in the 1990 Commonwealth Games in his home town of Auckland, New Zealand. He was always an exceedingly popular competitor, and his farewell at those Games in Auckland was an emotional occasion. In the1990 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kingsman was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire, for services to swimming.[6]
On retiring from swimming, Kingsman took up a position as New Zealand national sales and marketing manager forSpeedo sportswear. He then set up and operated his own swim school in Auckland. In 2001, he moved to theSan Francisco Bay Area with his wife and son and currently lives inGreenville, South Carolina, where Kingsman is a financial advisor and also a professional motivational speaker and executive coach to the financial services industry.[7]
