Danae Sweetapple

Who is Danae Sweetapple?

Danae Suzanna Sweetapple is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She was born on 3 February 1967 in the Queensland town of St George. She was blind at birth as a result of her mother having rubella during pregnancy. She had several operations to restore some sight in one eye. After being hit several times by cars, she reluctantly acquired a guide dog. She now does promotions for Guide Dogs Queensland.Sweetapple attended boarding school at 11 and has a Bachelor of Arts in Literature.

She took up swimming in 1990 to help lose weight. Her early swimming results led to her being offered one of the first Australian Institute of Sport scholarships for disabled swimmers. At the 1992 Barcelona Games, she won a silver medal in the Women's 100 m Freestyle B2 event and she won two bronze medals in the Women's 100 m Backstroke B2 and Women's 50 m Freestyle B2 events.After the Games she commented " I'd be so happy to see more people enter the games because it is an incredible experience – I've certainly gained confidence from swimming". She intimated that the injuries suffered from car accidents curtailed her career.

Sweetapple was the Young Queenslander of the Year in 1992.She married Glen Naylor, an electrical engineer and has two daughters. .She currently works at the Toowoomba Clubhouse as a support worker.