Sporting Biography
James Pittar
DOB: 5th of October 1969.
Married to Jenny 9th of April 2005.
| 2007 | Birth of our only child Annica |
| 1985 | Contracted an eye disease known as Retinitis Pigmentosa , a disease that destroys the Retina at the back part of the eye. |
Sporting
| 1990 | Represented Australia in the World Championships and Games for the disabled, swimming pool competition in Assen Netherlands. |
| 1991 | Represented Australia in the Thailand National disabled championships swimming pool competition in Lump Pung province Thailand. |
| 1994 | -Represented Australia in the British Blind National swimming pool championships Essex England. -Represented Australia in the Far East and Southern Pacific championships (FESPIC) swimming pool competition in Beijing China. |
| 1995 | Represented Australia in the World Rowing Championships in the Visionally impaired sliding seat division in Tampere Finalnd. |
| 1998 | -First blind person to swim from Perth to Rottnest Island WA. -The first blind person to swim the English Channel taking 13 hour and 50mins from England to France |
| 1999 | -Swam the Perth to Rottnest Island again. -First blind person to swim the Manhatten Island Marathon swim New York USA. -Completed 23 laps of the Manly to Queenscliff beach which is still a record today. |
| 2000 | -Swam the Perth to Rottnest Island swim. -One of the first 2 people to swim from Martha’s Vineyard to Nantucket Island USA. -Swam from Manly Wharf to Darling Harbour to raise awareness and money for the Paralympics. |
| 2001 | -Swam from Perth to Rottnest Island. -Swam from Palm Beach to Manly beach to raise awareness and money for the Rainbow club (which provides swimming tuition for disabled children up to 18 years of age). |
| 2002 | -Swam from Perth to Rottnest Island. -Became the first Australian to swim the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco. |
| 2003 | -Swam Perth to Rottnest Island swim. -Swam from Bordighera Italy to Monaco Monte Carlo for the World Sport for Good Foundation. -First blind person to swim the Great Chesapeake Bay swim Baltimore USA. -First blind person to swim a double crossing of the Alcatraz USA. |
| 2004 | -First blind person to swim the Cook Strait NZ. -Swam 60kms down the Parana River Argentina South America. |
| 2005 | -Swam 26kms down the Vaal River Johannesburg South Africa. -Swam 12kms of open water into Anzac Cove Turkey. |
| 2006 | -Swam a 22km swim from Mao Khao beach to Patong beach Phuket Thailand. -Second blind person to swim the Catalina Channel from Catalina Island to Los Angeles, also the 2nd Australian to swim it. Swam it to raise money and Awareness of The Fred Hollows Foundation. -Became the first Australian to complete the Triple Crown of Open water swimming by completing the English Channel, Manhattan Island marathon swim and the Catalina Channel. In the process had completed an open water swim in every continent excluding Antarctica in 925 days. |
| 2007 | Swam in 3 consecutive weekends:
|
| 2008 | Swam from Sydney Harbour bridge to North Steyne beach to raise money and awareness for the Paralympics. |
| 2010 | Inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Fort Lauderdale Florida USA. |
| 2011 | Swam from Malabar beach to Bondi for The Fred Hollows Foundation. |
| 2012 | Swam from Collaroy beach to North Steyne for The Fred Hollows Foundation. |
| 2013 | -A member of the first ever staged relay team of 66 people from 16 countries and 6 continents to swim the entire length of the Bering Strait from Providenia Russia to Alaska USA. -Swam from Long Reef beach to North Steyne beach for The Fred Hollows Foundation. |
| 2014 | - First blind person to swim from Robben Island to Blouberg as part of the Freedom swim Cape Town South Africa. - Swam from Dee Why to North Steyne beach for The Fred Hollows Foundation |
| 2020 | Inducted into Australian Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame |
| 2020 | Awarded a Guiness World Record for being part of the Bering Strait Relay Team |
Awards
| 1998 | -The Primary Clubs Sir Roden Cutler award for the most distinguishing sporting performance by a disabled person. -The Union of Old Swimmers Natortorial Award. |
| 2000 | Named as Citizen of the year for the Kuring-Gai Council. |
| 2006 | Queens Baton relay runner for the 2006 Comm Games. |
| 2010 | 9th Australian to be inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Fort Lauderdale Florida USA. |
| 2012 | Nominated for the World Open Water Swimming Association WOWSA for Performance of the year award for my charity swim from Collaroy beach to North Steyne beach for The Fred Hollows Foundation. |
| 2013 | -Nominated again for the WOWSA performance of the year award as part of the Bering Strait swim and we also won the ward which will be presented in September 2014. -Received the Fred’s Helping Hand award from The Fred Hollows Foundation
|
| 2015 | 1 of only 2 Australians to be named in the Open Water Swimming Association’s Top 50 Male most adventurist marathon swimmers |
