S12, SB12, SM12 are disability swimming classifications used for categorising swimmers based on their level of disability.
The classification was created by the International Paralympic Committee and has roots in a 2003 attempt to address "the overall objective to support and co-ordinate the ongoing development of accurate, reliable, consistent and credible sport focused classification systems and their implementation."[1]
This classification is for swimming.[2] In the classification title, S represents Freestyle, Backstroke and Butterfly strokes. SB means breaststroke. SM means individual medley.[2] Jane Buckley, writing for the Sporting Wheelies, describes the swimmers in this classification as having: "These swimmers can recognise the shape of a hand and have some ability to see. There is a large range of vision ability within this class."[2]
In Australia, to be classified in this category, athletes contact the Australian Paralympic Committee or their state swimming governing body.[3] In the United States, classification is handled by the United States Paralympic Committee on a national level. The classification test has three components: "a bench test, a water test, observation during competition."[4] American swimmers are assesed by four people: a medical classifier, two general classifier and a technical classifier.[4]
For this classification, organisers of the Paralympic Games have the option of including the following events on the Paralympic programme: 50m, 100m and 400m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, 100m Breaststroke, 100m Butterfly, 200m Individual Medley, and 4x100m Freestyle Relay and 4x100m Medley Relay.[5]
Swimmers who have competed in this classification include Anna Efimenko,[6] Deborah Font[6] and Ana Garcia-Arcicollar[6] who all won medals in their class at the 2008 Paralympics.[6]
American swimmers who have been classified by the United States Paralympic Committee as being in this class include Katie Robinson, Alexandra Stafford and Carly Stevason.[7]
In the S12 50 m Freestyle Long Course, the men's world record is held by the Ukraine's Maksym Veraksa and the women's world record is held by Russia's Oxana Savchenko.[8] In the S12 100 m Freestyle Long Course, the men's world record is held by Ukraine's Maksym Veraksa and the women's world record is held by Russia's Oxana Savchenko.[9]