Josef Craig

Josef Isaac Craig, MBE (born 17 February 1997) is a retired British Paralympic swimmer. Craig competed in S8 events and qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics, winning gold in a world record time in the men's 400 m freestyle event.

Personal life Craig was born in Hebburn, Tyne and Wear on 17 February 1997. Craig, who has cerebral palsy, was introduced to disability swimming at the age of nine, before entering competitive swimming a few years later. Noted as a swimming talent from a young age, and ear-marked for the Great Britain team at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Craig's career suffered a setback when he was diagnosed with Graves' disease in 2011.

Career history Craig trained at the City of Sunderland Amateur Swimming Club. In 2012 he set five personal bests at the Paralympic trials for the 2012 Games in London and then won his first British medal with a bronze in the 100 m freestyle at the 2012 British Swimming Championships. To commemorate his gold medal Royal Mail painted a post box gold in his hometown of Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, and produced a first class stamp featuring a picture of him. As a result of his success he was jointly awarded the North East Sports Personality of the Year award, along with Olympian rower Kat Copeland in December 2012. Then, on 16 December, Craig was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year for 2012 at the BBC's main annual award.

Craig was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to swimming.

Initially classified as a S7 swimmer, Craig was reclassified in April 2014 as S8. His previous achievements continued to stand, but it meant that Craig would now compete in future events with swimmers deemed to have more mobility. His first major tournament after being reclassified was the 2014 IPC Swimming European Championships, where he claimed three bronze medals, an achievement that Craig was pleased with.

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Craig won the bronze medal in the men's 100m freestyle S8.