Cody Bureau
In January of 2007, Cody Bureau chose to move to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs so he could train full-time for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. Four months later, he posted a time in the 100m butterfly good enough to qualify for the U.S. Paralympics Swimming Elite Team. Three months after that, he won eight medals at the Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once Bureau reached Beijing he proved that his success on the international stage was no fluke. Swimming a grueling schedule of eight events in nine days, Bureau took home the bronze medal in the men's individual medley SM9.
Bureau was injured during a farming accident in 1996, resulting in the loss of his hand. A few years later, at the age of 11, he got involved in swimming and competed in the Swimming Disability Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. A year later, he went to Indianapolis for the Paralympic Trials. He competed in his first Paralympic Games in 2004.
Bureau swam on his high school swim team and has qualified for high school and YMCA district competitions. In addition to swimming, he also enjoys playing baseball.
Major Achievements:
- 2008: Bronze medal, Men's Individual Medley SM9 - Paralympic Games, Bejiing, China
- 2008: American record, 200m butterfly - CanAm Championships, Victoria, Canada
- 2007: Gold medal, 100m butterfly; Four silver medals, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley, 4x100m freestyle relay; Three bronze medals, 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 4x100m medley relay - Parapan American Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2007: Posted U.S. Paralympics Swimming Elite Team qualifying time, 100m butterfly - German Open, Berlin, Germany
- 2006: Fuhrer Outstanding Performance Award winner (Pittsburgh Region)
- 2004: Fifth place, 200m IM relay; seventh place, 400m relay; ninth place, 100m butterfly - Paralympic Games, Athens, Greece
