'Racing against myself': Canadian swimmer Danielle Dorris hungry for more after retaining Paralympic title
Zack Smart | CBC Sports | Posted: September 23, 2024 4:02 PM | Last Updated: September 23
World-record holder from Moncton, N.B., continues proving she's in league of her own
Danielle Dorris couldn't hear the roaring crowd at La Défense Arena as she torpedoed through the water, hyper-focused on her mission to improve on greatness.
The Canadian Para swimmer, constantly striving to be faster than before, spares little thought for anything else during a race — including her competitors.
While they are thinking about dethroning Dorris, she is in a race against herself.
Dorris is the best to ever do it in the women's 50-metre butterfly S7 event, and her successful title defence at the Paris Paralympics was yet further confirmation that she is in a league of her own.
"The way I view that race is me racing against myself," Dorris told CBC Sports. "Because I am the world-record holder, I'm trying to be better than myself. Everybody else, I kind of forget what they're doing and just focus on what I can do."
WATCH l Dorris successfully defends Paralympic title in women's S7 50m butterfly:
Incredibly, the best could still be yet to come for Dorris, who only turned 22 on Sunday.
Dorris is the only woman to ever swim under 33 seconds in her signature event, and her coach has no doubt that she will make that world record harder to break in the years ahead.
Ryan Allen has been working with Dorris for 10 years and thinks it's just a matter of time before she breaks it again, telling CBC Sports it's "100 per cent going to happen."
"That's what she works for. She's not anywhere near being done her development.... I absolutely believe that she will push that record down further," Allen said.
Dorris, who hails from Moncton, N.B., was born with underdeveloped arms due to a condition called bilateral radial dysplasia. She started swimming at 10 years old and soon caught the attention of Swimming Canada.
She broke American Mallory Weggemann's nine-year-old world record during the qualifying heats at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, stopping the clock in 33.51 seconds. Dorris set it again later that day while winning her first Paralympic gold medal in a time of 32.99.
Dorris made history at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro as a 13-year-old, becoming the youngest Canadian swimmer ever to compete at the Paralympics. She has won three Paralympic medals and six world-championship medals in her career.
Favourite Paralympic experience
Dorris equalled her world record mark at the national trials last May. While she didn't lower it at the Paris Paralympics earlier this month, Dorris says they were her favourite Games so far.
"In Rio, I don't remember any of it because of being so young, and then in Tokyo having no fans. To be with the French fans who were insanely loud and having my family there as well, it was just incredible," Dorris said.
"I think having the fans here made it feel like a true Games, and I think because of that it made everything else more special."
Dorris's parents, sister, aunt and uncle cheered her on as she dominated the race from start to finish in front of nearly 15,000 spectators. It was the full Paralympic experience Dorris had dreamt of.
"She soaked it up," Allen said. "That was the last thing I said to her before she went into what we call the ready room — the preparation area — before the event. I said just soak this up, enjoy it, and then find your family to wave at."
Dorris waved at her family and felt the rocking atmosphere as she walked out to defend her crown in Paris, but the sound of the crowd turned into silence for her after diving in.
"Once I'm in the water, I completely ignore them and I cannot hear a thing," Dorris said. "I'm just focusing on getting to the other side of the pool. But as soon as you finish, all the noise comes back crashing on you. It was a weird experience, but it was very fun."
Dorris left the field in her wake to win the Paris final by 2.3 seconds with a time of 33.62, forcing Weggemann to settle for silver for the second straight Paralympics. She says she was overcome with a feeling of happiness and relief after retaining her title on the biggest stage, regardless of her final time.
"I think it's crazy to think that doing it once was achievable, and then doing it again is just mind-blowing," Dorris said.
WATCH l Dorris reflects on capturing gold in Paris:
Her unprecedented success in the pool reflects her natural passion for the sport, one that already has her looking ahead to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
"I'll be 25 turning 26 at those Games. I think that's definitely an age where I'm still very much capable of being there and competing and being competitive," Dorris said.
Allen credits a large part of her dominance to her passion for the sport, saying she always loves coming to the pool to train. He doesn't think Dorris has even reached her peak yet.
"I don't for a second believe she's there," Allen said. "And over the last few years we've really seen with her — and I think sport in general — the impact of being happy and healthy is so important, and she definitely appears to be in that state."
Dorris has been thriving since moving back to Moncton and reuniting with Allen after a stint in Montreal at Swimming Canada's high performance centre in 2022. The following year saw Dorris win two world titles — including her first in the 100m backstroke — in the lead up to her most recent Paralympic triumph.
"I think had I stayed in Montreal, I don't think I would have performed as well as I did [in Paris]," Dorris said. "I think me being in Montreal was just not a good fit for me, like I was not happy mentally, and so moving back home was definitely the right play. I'm a lot happier now and performing a lot better."
WATCH l Dorris ties her own world record at Paralympic trials:
And there appears to be no slowing down in sight. Already a master of her craft, Dorris remains hungry for more in her constant pursuit of improvement.
Allen, who has also become one of Dorris's best friends, says it's still full steam ahead as far as his prized pupil is concerned.
"She's never for a second hinted at wanting to be done. She's already talking about world championships next year, and then she talks about Los Angeles in four years, which is crazy to think about that far out but right now that's 100 per cent the plan."