Jessica Pengelly

Who is Jessica Pengelly?

Jessica Evelyn Pengelly is a South African swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and individual medley events. She is a multiple-time South African champion and record holder in the individual medley, and a five-time medalist at the 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria. She also set two national records in the freestyle relays at the 2008 FINA World Short Course Championships in Manchester, England, and at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, China. During the 2008 FINA World Short Course Championships, Pengelly placed 4th in the 400im with a time of 4:31.79.

Pengelly qualified for two swimming events, as South Africa's youngest swimmer, at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She set a South African mark and cleared FINA-A standard entry times of 2:15.22 and 4:41.35 from the national championships.

On the first night of the Games, Pengelly challenged seven other swimmers in the fifth and final heat of the 400 m individual medley, including top medal favorites Katinka Hosszú of Hungary, Hannah Miley of Great Britain, and Katie Hoff of the United States. She edged out France's Joanne Andraca to take the seventh spot and twenty-first overall by more than two seconds in 4:41.04.