Andrea Holmes (born 3 January 1982) [1] is a former Canadian Paralympic athlete, para-athlete in long jump, alpine ski, 100m run and high jump, and a Paralympic torchbearer.
Holmes wears a prosthetic on her left leg. She was born with fibular hemimelia and her parents chose to amputate her left foot, so that she could have a more active lifestyle. [2]
As an athlete, she represented Canada from 2002 to 2007, winning a bronze medal for long jump at the Para-Pan American Games in 2007. She was also part of the BC Para-Alpine ski team, [2] and placed third in 2008 in alpine. [3] [4]
She has been the Canadian long jump champion four times, the 100m champion three times and holds a Canadian record in high jump. [2]
She is the subject of Coni Martin's short documentary My Favourite Leg, which was shown at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival and Langara College's Just Film Festival. [2] The film premiered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City as part of the United Nations Enable Film Festival. [2] [5]
She was also a Paralympic torchbearer. [2]
Her coach was Victoria-based Ron Parker. [2]
Holmes completed a degree in International Business at the University of Victoria. [6] [1] After the 2010 Paralympics, Holmes retired from competition and became a banker, [2] having taken part in the RBC Olympian program. [7] She has a daughter. [2]
She has several prosthetic legs—for running, swimming, dress and everyday use. [5]
Eliza Stankovic-Mowle is an Australian wheelchair racer, who competed at Paralympic and Olympic Games. She survived meningococcal disease and plays a major role in improving the Australian community's awareness of the disease.
Jessica Tatiana Long is a Russian-American Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at six Paralympic Games, winning 30 medals. She has won over 50 world championship medals.
Aimee Mullins is an American athlete, actress, and public speaker. She was born with a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs beneath the knee. She is the first amputee to compete against nondisabled athletes in National Collegiate Athletic Association events, and competed in the Paralympics in 1996 in Atlanta. In 1999, she began modeling, and, in 2002, she began an acting career. She has periodically spoken at conferences, including TED Talks.
Christine Ingrid Wolf, OAM is an Australian Paralympic athlete born in Germany who competed for Germany and Australia mainly in category F42 long jump and T 42 100 m events.
April Holmes is a Paralympic athlete from the USA competing mainly in category T44 sprint events.
The 2010 Winter Paralympics Torch Relay was a 10-day event leading up to the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver. It began on March 3, 2010, in Ottawa and concluded at the Games' opening ceremony on March 12. Held entirely within Canada, the host country, it has been described by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as "an important event to connect Canadians to the Games", by "demonstrating the fire inside each individual and how it inspires others".
Olivia Breen is a Welsh Paralympian athlete, who competes for Wales and Great Britain mainly in T38 sprint and F38 long jump events. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics and was selected for the T38 100m and 200m sprint and was also part of the T35-38 women's relay team. She has also represented Wales at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games winning gold in the F38 Long Jump in 2018 and gold in the T37/38 100m in 2022.
LW4 is a para-alpine and para-Nordic standing skiing sport class defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for skiers who may have a disability in one lower extremity, which may be a result of a leg amputation below the knee, knee arthrodesis or a hip arthrodesis. For international skiing competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. A national federation such as Alpine Canada handles classification for domestic competitions.
Joany Badenhorst is a South African-born Australian Paralympian who was selected to compete in Para-snowboard cross at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi. She would have been the first female snowboarder to represent Australia at the Winter Paralympics, but was forced to withdraw from her event after injuring her left knee on the morning of the event. In February 2018, she was selected in the Australian team to compete at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.
Ella Azura Pardy is an Australian Paralympic athlete who competes in the T38 100m, 200m and long jump. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in athletics where she won a bronze medal and the 2020 Toykor Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics
Vanessa Low is a German-born Australian Paralympic athlete competing in T42 sprint and long jump events. Born in East Germany, she gained Australian nationality in June 2017.
Erin Cleaver is an Australian Paralympic athlete with cerebral palsy. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in athletics.
Sarah Walsh is an Australian Paralympic amputee athlete. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics. .
Liu Cuiqing 刘翠青 is a Chinese para-athlete. She specializes in track and field.
Karen Brain is a Canadian Paralympic equestrian. She won two medals in the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
Scout Bassett is an American Paralympic track and field athlete.
Abigail "Abi" Tripp is a Canadian Paralympic swimmer. She has won bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games and the World Para Swimming Championships, and won silver at the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships. She has represented Canada at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics, and will compete in swimming at the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Fleur Jong is a Dutch Paralympic athlete. She won the gold medal in the women's long jump T64 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan and the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France. As of September 2023, her world record in this event is 6.74 metres.
Marissa Papaconstantinou is a Greek-Canadian Paralympic athlete who competes in the 100m T64 in international level events. She qualified for the 2020 Summer Paralympics, in 100m T64 and 200m T64.