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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Gold Coast, QLD, AUS |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Sleeping, playing Playstation, driving his car and supporting the Brisbane Broncos rugby league team. (Swimming Australia,16 Jun 2010 |
| Most influential person in career | His parents. (Swimming Australia,16 Jun 2010) |
| Ambitions | To reclaim the freestyle relay world record from the Americans. "It's definitely a burning desire to get that world record back or, if not, definitely get a gold medal for the 4x100m in Beijing," He is also aiming to race at his fourth Olympic Games in London in 2012. (timedfinals.com, 02 Nov 2006, smh.com.au, 12 Mar 2010) |
| Awards and honours | He received the 'Ambassador Award' at the 2005 Swim Australia Awards. (swimaustralia.org.au, 10 May 2005) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Graeme McDonald |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He started swimming at the age of 16. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Real Estate Agent |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Other sports | He is also a member of the Currumbin Surf Live Saving Club on the Gold Coast. (abc.net.au, 30 Aug 2010) |
International Debut | |
| Year | 1998 |
| Competing for | Australia |
| Tournament | Commonwealth Games |
| Location | Malaysia |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Ash or Flash. (Swimming Australia,16 Jun 2010) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning a gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. (NOC, 14 May 2008) |
| Injuries | He took a year off swimming after contracting the Epstein-Barr virus [glandular fever] in 2004. (Swimming Australia, 02 Nov 2006) |
| Hero / Idol | Tiger Woods, Duncan Armstrong, Michael Jordan. (Swimming Australia,16 Jun 2010, AUS Team Guide 2007) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Work hard, give 100 per cent in everything." (Swimming Australia,16 Jun 2010) |
| Other information | ANGRY ASH He admits that he was furious watching the South Africans and then the Americans better the 4x100m freestyle relay world record set by the Australians in Sydney 2000. "It sent goose bumps up my spine and brought back the angry Ash I've been known as over the last couple of years." Asked to describe himself in three words, he responded "aggressive, tough, survivor". (timedfinals.com, 02 Nov 2006, swimming.org.au, 02 Nov 2006) GETTING THE SHORT END OF THE POOL In 2005 he was forced to train in a 25m pool at Redlands College after his coach David Urquhart lost tenancy of the Redlands pool where he had previously trained for free. The new owner had begun charging Callus $100 a week to use the pool. "I'm angry and disappointed because I have trained at Redlands for the past 14 years. I've done so much for the local council, but myself and other swimmers in our club have effectively been forced out by this licensee who has been in the business for two minutes." (swimmersworld.com, 02 Nov 2006) |
| Famous relatives | His father, John, played rugby league for Queensland and he is related to elite hockey player, Sue Callus. (AOC, 21 Apr 2004, AUS Team Guide 2007) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Preferred position / style / stance / technique | Freestyle |
| Club / Team | North End Aquatic: Gold Coast, QLD, AUS |
| Coach from which country? | Australia |