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5780-Katarina Roxon photo

Katarina Roxon

Canada flag
Canada
Athletics | Swimming
1

Biography

Impairment information

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency
Origin of Impairment
Congenital

Further personal information

Residence
Kippens, NF, CAN
Occupation
Athlete
Languages
English

Sport specific information

When and where did you begin this sport?
She took up swimming at age five, and began competing in 2001 in Gander, NL, Canada.
Why this sport?
Her parents enrolled her in swimming lessons because they thought it was something she needed to learn how to do.
Club / Team
Aqua Aces Swim Club [swimming]: Stephenville, NF, CAN
Name of coach
Leonard Roxon [father]
Training Regime
She swims six days a week.

International debut

Year
2006 [Para swimming]
Competing for
Canada
Tournament
World Championships
Location
Durban, RSA

General interest

Nicknames
Roxy, Kat (Facebook profile, 22 Feb 2021; canadianathletesnow.ca, 12 Dec 2011)
Hobbies
Public speaking. (LinkedIn profile, 2020)
Memorable sporting achievement
Winning gold in swimming in the SB8 100m breaststroke at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (sportmanagementhub.com, 12 Jun 2019; nfldherald.com, 25 Jun 2019)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"Winning is not coming first, it's knowing you've done your best." [a quote from her father] (canadianathletesnow.ca, 12 Dec 2011)
Awards and honours
Following her gold medal in the SB8 100m breaststroke at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, a highway near her hometown of Kippens, NL, Canada, was renamed from 'Route 490' to 'Roxon Way' in recognition of her achievement. (sportmanagementhub.com, 06 Dec 2019; cbc.ca, 20 Sep 2016)

She carried the Paralympic torch through St John's, NL, Canada, in the lead-up to the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. (natation.ca, 19 Jul 2010)

She has received an Order of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. (sportmanagementhub.com, 06 Dec 2019)
Other sports
She has competed in both Para athletics and Para swimming. In 2010 she won Canadian national titles in the 100m, 200m and 400m in the T46 Para athletics category. She was classified in Para swimming in the S9, SB8, and SM9 categories for the 2022 season. (IPC, 09 May 2022; cscatlantic.ca, 29 Sep 2010)
Famous relatives
Her sister Miranda has competed in able-bodied swimming and worked as a swimming coach at the Mount Pearl Marlins Swim Club in Canada. Both sisters have been coached by their father Leonard Roxon. (Miranda Roxon LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2017; Swimming Canada, 22 Jun 2007)
Impairment
She was born with amniotic band syndrome, which resulted in her left arm being amputated below the elbow. "Strands from the amniotic sac got tangled around my arm, cutting the circulation, and my arm never grew." (sportmanagementhub.com, 06 Dec 2019, 12 Jun 2019; thetelegram.com, 24 Mar 2015)
Other information
REIGNITING THE SPARK
She spent time training in Australia in 2018 and 2019, which she said helped her rediscover her passion for swimming. "I'm falling back in love with the sport again, which is very important. It's been wonderful. I've been training on the Sunshine Coast." (paralympic.org, 15 Feb 2019)

Results

Unit Date Rank
IPC Swimming World Championships Durban 2006 (Durban, South Africa)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34 pts Final Round 4
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Heats 16
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Heats 8
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Final Round 5
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Heats 9999
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Heats 14
IPC Swimming World Championships Eindhoven 2010 (Eindhoven, Netherlands)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 7
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 5
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Heat 1 5
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Final Round 5
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Heat 1 3
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games (Beijing, China)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Heat 1 7
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Heat 2 6
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Heat 3 7
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 7
London 2012 Paralympic Games (London, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Heat 2 2012-08-30 6
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Final Round 2012-09-01 5
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Heat 1 2012-09-01 3
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Final Round 2012-09-03 7
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 2012-09-04 5
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 2012-09-05 6
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Heat 1 2012-09-06 5
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Final Round 2012-09-07 7
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 2012-09-07 7
2013 IPC Swimming World Championships (Montreal, Canada)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Final 1 2013-08-12 7
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 2013-08-12 8
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Final 1 2013-08-13 5
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Heat 1 2013-08-13 5
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 2013-08-13 9
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Final 1 2013-08-15 2
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Heat 1 2013-08-15 5
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Final 1 2013-08-15 4
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Heat 1 2013-08-17 9
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Final 1 2013-08-18 4
2015 IPC Swimming World Championships (Glasgow, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Heat 1 2015-07-14 3
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Final 1 2015-07-14 3
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 2015-07-16 18
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Final 1 2015-07-16 4
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Heat 1 2015-07-17 13
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Final 1 2015-07-19 8
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Final 1 2015-07-19 6
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Heat 2 2015-07-19 6
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Heat 3 2016-09-09 6
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Final Round 2016-09-11 7
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Heat 2 2016-09-11 2
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 2016-09-12 5
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Heat 2 2016-09-14 1
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB8 Final Round 2016-09-14 1
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Heat 3 2016-09-15 6
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Final Round 2016-09-15 5
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Final Round 2016-09-16 5

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