Simon Andrew Burnett (born 14 April 1983) is an English former competition swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics and European championships, and England in the Commonwealth Games.
Burnett attended and competed for the University of Arizona in the United States from 2001-2006, utilizing a redshirt leading up to the 2004 Summer Olympics for his 2003 collegiate season.
After completing his GCSEs, he went to John Hampden Grammar School, in High Wycombe, to study chemistry, biology, and physics at A-level.
He was coached by Bob Pay and his move to John Hampden, which was local to the Wycombe Sports Centre at which he trained, helped him focus further on swimming.
At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Burnett competed in the 200-metre freestyle and won silver with a time of 1:47.38, beaten by team mate Ross Davenport, who swam a personal best of 1:47.29.
However, the most sensational race[citation needed] was the 4×200-metre freestyle, when the English team won the gold medal, nudging Scotland into second place and Australia into third.
The next day, he won individual gold in the 100-metre freestyle, leaving the South African entrants Ryk Neethling and Roland Schoeman into second and third respectively.