Yukon swimmer named to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Stephanie Dixon, Paralympic medalist, one of Canada's most successful athletes
Whitehorse swimmer, coach and ambassador for the Paralympic movement Stephanie Dixon was one of seven people named on Tuesday to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
When Dixon retired from competitive swimming in 2010, she was a multiple world record holder and the winner of 19 Paralympic medals over three Games. She was only 16 at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, where she won five gold and two silver medals.
When Dixon first heard news about her own Hall of Fame induction, she thought about when her parents put her in swimming lessons at age two, Dixon said.
"They got me involved in sports to make sure that I knew that despite having a disability, I could do anything that I wanted to do.
And when I got in the water, you know, I just took to it right away, became a little mermaid, swam like a little fish," she said.
She's also just signed a contract to co-host CBC's coverage of the Rio De Janeiro 2016 Paralympics in September, she said.
"Getting involved in sports, especially swimming, where, you know, it's just me and my body — no crutches, no prosthetic leg, just me and what I'm able to do in the water — really allowed me to feel empowered by my body and not only in sport. [It] gave me confidence just for the rest of my life to be proud of who I am, what I look like, and what I'm able to do," Dixon said.
Six other people were named to the Hall of Fame Tuesday, alongside Dixon. They include CFL player Michael "Pinball" Clemons and Dr. Frank Hayden, the creator of the worldwide Special Olympics Movement.
They'll be formally inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 1 in Toronto.
with files from Airplay