Matthew John Cowdrey (born 22 December 1988) is an Australian politician and Paralympic swimmer.

[2] Cowdrey contested and won the seat of Colton at the 2018 state election in South Australia for the Liberal Party.

[3] Cowdrey was born on 22 December 1988[4] with part of his arm missing[5] due to a congenital amputation.

[7] In April 2015, Cowdrey graduated from the University of Adelaide with a double degree in law and media.

[15] At the 2006 Commonwealth Games Trials – Team Qualification Races, he won a gold medal and set a world record in the 100-metre freestyle Elite Athlete with a Disability (EAD) event, and won a gold medal in the 50-metre freestyle (EAD) event.

[4] He was Australia's only male non-relay individual swimming gold medalist in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

[16] At the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships, in Durban, South Africa, Cowdrey won gold medals in five events: the 50-metre freestyle S9, the 100-metre freestyle S9, the 100-metre butterfly S9, the 200-metre individual medley SM9, and the 4×100-metre medley relay (34 points).

[20] At the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, he won a gold medal in the 50-metre freestyle S9 event in a world record time of 25.33 seconds, which is still standing as of February 2012.

[24] He won a gold medal in the SB8 100-metre breaststroke, with the fourth fastest time posted for the event during 2011 at 1:12.85.

He was back living in Glenelg and training at the South Australian Aquatic Centre.

[32] In 2017, Cowdrey was preselected to run for the Liberal Party in the Labor-held seat of Colton at the 2018 state election in South Australia.

In April 2022 new Liberal leader David Speirs promoted him to the Opposition frontbench as Shadow Treasurer.

[15] In 2006, Cowdrey won the Commonwealth Sports Award in the category of male Elite Athlete with a Disability (EAD).

[37] In 2012, The South Australia Aquatic & Leisure Centre decided to name its main competition pool after Cowdrey.

[39] In October 2014, he was inducted into the Path of Champions at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.