2.30.12 S Pascoe (NZL)
2.33.46 A Rivard (CAN)
2.36.76 K Downie (AUS)
2.44.90 M Scott (AUS)
2.45.95 K Roxon (CAN)
As has been the case in a number of the parasport events during these Commonwealth Games, due to the number of entrant competitors, all athletes in the heat will move forward to the final.
A sad note is that the home nations have no entrants in this category. We obviously need to track someone down who can fit this classification – so get working on that everyone.
Often this can mean a sluggish heat schedule but the athletes at these events have been far from complacent.
A good placing can not only give them a better lane in the final but it is also an opportunity to place a marker to your swimming mates.
Sophie Pascoe (NZL)
On the pressure of being the favourite:
“The higher expectations are my own.”
On what keeps her motivated:
“The challenge, the drive, pressure and adrenaline before the race.”
On her game plan for the final:
“You will find it out tonight.”
Madeleine Scott (AUS)
On the race:
“It was fairly light. Just a bit of a practice for tonight’s final.”
On para swimming being included in the Commonwealth Games programme:
“There’s not a lot of para sport in the Commonwealth Games so I am really honoured that I have been able to compete in two events.”
About the athletes…
Katarina Roxon, 21 (CAN)
Classification
S9, SB8, SM9, T46
Start of sporting career
She began swimming at age five.
Reason for taking up this sport
Her parents enrolled her in swimming lessons because they thought it was something she needed to learn how to do.
Ambitions
To win a Paralympic medal in 2016 after finishing fifth at the 2012 Paralympic Games. “Just being fifth in the world, you know you’re two spots away from a medal. It definitely makes me want to push harder in my training now, so I can get a medal.”
Superstitions / Rituals
She always listens to music to help her get ‘pumped up’ before a race.
Sporting philosophy / motto
“Winning is not coming first, it’s knowing you’ve done your best,” which is a quote from her father.
Awards
She carried the Paralympic torch through St John’s, NL, Canada in the lead up to the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
General
YOUNG PARALYMPIAN
At age 15, she was the youngest Canadian swimmer at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Katherine Downie, 18 (AUS)
Classification
S10, SB9, SM10
Type of Impairment
Cerebral Palsy
Impairment Details
She was born with cerebral palsy.
Start of sporting career
She began swimming at age four.
Superstitions / Rituals
She has a yellow duck pillow that is a good luck charm.
Sophie Pascoe, 21 (NZL)
Classification
S10, SB9, SM10
Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency
Origin of Impairment
Accident
Impairment Details
Her left leg was amputated below the knee at age two after her father accidentally reversed over her in a lawnmower accident. “I don’t think I’ve really recovered from it. You never get over something like that. It haunts me to this day,” her father Garry said.
Start of sporting career
She began swimming at age eight and competed internationally for the first time at age 11.
Reason for taking up this sport
In school she was able to swim faster than her able-bodied friends and realised she had a talent for the sport.
Ambitions
To compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Training
She swims up to 10 times a week, for two hours each session.
Aurelie Rivard, 18 (Can)
Classification
S10, SB9, SM10
Impairment Details
She has an impairment in her left hand.
Start of sporting career
She began swimming as a child, and then competitively in 2008.
Sporting philosophy / motto
“I like pushing myself to the limit.”
Awards
She received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Canadian Paralympic Committee [CPC] in February 2013.
General
She has a twin sister Charlotte, and the pair often train together.
Madeleine Scott, 21 (AUS)
Classification
S9, SB9, SM9
Start of sporting career
She began took up the sport at age 13 at the South Lake Dolphins club in Perth, WA, Australia (Athlete, 14 Jun 2011)
Reason for taking up this sport
“I always loved the water, my two older sisters swam competitively when I was younger and a few years later when I was a little older I thought I would jump in and give it a crack.” (Athlete, 14 Jun 2011)
Most influential person in career
Her family. (Athlete, 14 Jun 2011)
Superstitions / Rituals
She always wears a black hair lacky when she races. (Athlete, 14 Jun 2011)
Sporting philosophy / motto
“I don’t fail. I succeed at finding what doesn’t work.” (Athlete, 14 Jun 2011)