Belinda Hocking

Belinda Hocking is a retired Australian backstroke swimmer. She is an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.

Career

Hocking was fifth in the 200-metre back and sixth in the 50 and 100m back at the Telstra Australian Swimming Championships in Brisbane in December 2007, won gold in 4×200-metre freestyle and was fourth in 200-metre backstroke at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Maui, Hawaii, claimed gold in the 100- and 200-metre backstroke and 4×100-metre medley relay, to go with silver in the 4×100-metre and 4×200-metre freestyle relays at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney, won gold in the 100- and 200-metre backstroke and bronze in the 200-metre freestyle at the Australian Age Championships in Perth, won silver in 100-metre backstroke, was fourth in 50-metre backstroke and fifth in 200-metre backstroke at the Telstra Australian Short Course Championships in Melbourne, and placed third in the 100-metre backstroke at the FINA World Cup in Sydney.

Hocking qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and came eighth in the 200-metre backstroke. She placed second in the 200-metre backstroke, and was third in 100-metre backstroke at the Australian Swimming Championships and Olympic Trials in Sydney. That year, she also won silver in the 4×100-metre medley (heat swim), and came fifth in the 100-metre backstroke and sixth in the 50-metre backstroke at the FINA World Short Course Championships in Manchester. She set a Commonwealth record in 50-metre backstroke at World Short Course Championships and she won 100- and 200-metre backstroke at the Monaco leg of the Mare Nostrum series. She was also second in 100- and 200-metre backstroke at the Barcelona leg of the Mare Nostrum series.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the 100 and 200 m backstroke events, finishing in 7th and 10th respectively.

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she won two gold medals in the 200 m backstroke and the medley relay, setting Commonwealth Games records in both. She also won a bronze medal in the 100 m backstroke.

She had to take a break from competing in 2015, after a series of accidents and injuries, including a shoulder injury which required surgery, a dislocated knee and a burn injury caused while studying. In 2015, she also began to study for a degree in primary education.