Sport | |
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Country | USA |
Sport | Paralympic swimmer |
Medal record |
Karen Donaldson (1947 - October 28, 2005) was an American Paralympic swimmer and athlete. She competed at the 1968 Summer Paralympics, 1972 Summer Paralympics, 1976 Summer Paralympics, and 1980 Summer Paralympics, winning five gold medals, one silver medal, and three bronze medals in total. [1] gold medals in Women's 25 meters Backstroke 1A, and Women's 25 meters Freestyle 1A. [2]
Donaldson, born to American parents, spent her early childhood in England, where her father was stationed as a member of the Air Force. At age six, Donaldson suffered an unknown illness that resulted in her becoming paraplegic. Following her illness, the family returned to the United States, where Donaldson was treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She began swimming as part of her treatment. [3]
Donaldson's mother pushed for her to attend the same high school as her brothers, although she used a wheelchair. [3]
She studied at Wayne State University. [3]
While attending Wayne State University, Donaldson joined the Michigan Wheelchair Athletic Association. [3]
At the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Donaldson won three medals: a gold medal in the 25m breaststroke, and silver medals in the 25-meter freestyle and 25-meter backstroke. [3]
At the 1972 Summer Paralympics, Donaldson took gold in women's 25m backstroke 1a, and bronze in women's 60m wheelchair 1a. [1]
At the 1976 Summer Paralympics, Donaldson won bronze medals in the women's 25m backstroke 1a and women's slalom 1a. She also competed in the 1a category for women's discus and club throw. [1]
She competed at the 1978 Pan‐American Wheelchair Games, winning a gold medal in the 25meter freestyle in the 1-A category. [4]
She was inducted into the Wheelchair Sports Hall of Fame in 1982. [3] [5]
Donaldson met and married Jack Donaldson while in college. The two later divorced, and Donaldson moved to Washington in 1992 soon after. There, she worked in the Information Technology department at Boeing. [3]
Donaldson died from pneumonia at age 58. Noted by her family for her "strong will", Donaldson lived independently until the end of her life. [3]
Jessica Tuomela is a Canadian paralympic competitive swimmer and para triathlete who was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She won silver in the 50-metre freestyle at the 2000 Summer Paralympics and bronze in the Women's PTVI Paratriathlon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
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 five Paralympic Games, winning 29 medals. She has won over 50 world championship medals.
Heather Frederiksen MBE is a retired British Paralympic swimmer. She is former world record holder in the women's S8 100 m backstroke, 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 200 m freestyle and 400 m freestyle events. As of June 2017, she still holds European records in the S8 200 m and 400 m freestyle. Frederiksen is a two time Paralympic champion in the 100m backstroke S8 classification, and has won eight Paralympic medals in all.
Yip Pin Xiu is a Singaporean backstroke swimmer. She is a five-time Paralympic gold medallist and 5 time World Champion, with two world records in the 50 m backstroke S2 and the 100 m backstroke S2. Yip is Singapore's most decorated Paralympian.
Ellie Victoria Cole, is an Australian retired Paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player. After having her leg amputated due to cancer, she trained in swimming as part of her rehabilitation program and progressed more rapidly than instructors had predicted. She began competitive swimming in 2003 and first competed internationally at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships, where she won a silver medal. Since then, she has won medals in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympic Games, the IPC Swimming World Championships, and various national championships.
Sandra James is a Zimbabwean former athlete, who won eleven medals across four different sports at the Paralympic Games.
Finland competed at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg. It was the country's third participation in the Paralympics, and it sent a significantly larger delegation than for the previous Games. In 1960 and in 1968, it had been represented by a single athlete; for the Heidelberg Games, it sent 24 athletes to compete in five sports: archery, athletics, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting. This was the first time Finnish women had competed at the Paralympics.
Great Britain was one of twenty-eight nations to send athletes to the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Israel from November 4 to 13, 1968. The team finished second in the medal table and won sixty-nine medals: twenty-nine gold, twenty silver and twenty bronze. Athletes from the whole United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, were able to compete for the team. Seventy-five British athletes took part in the Games; fifty-one men and twenty-four women.
Australia has participated in every Summer Paralympic Games since the inception of the Paralympics in the year 1960. The 1976 Paralympic Games in Toronto was Australia's fifth Paralympic Games. Australia competed in 10 out of the 13 sports and were able to win medals in six of these sports. There were 44 athletes representing Australia at the Games with a number of these athletes participating in multiple sports. Of the 44 athletes, 34 were males and 10 were females. As a team, Australia won 41 medals, 16 of which were gold. This placed it just outside the top 10 in 11th position at the end of the Games. The Australian team won more gold medals at the 1976 Paralympic Games than at any of the previous four Paralympic Games. 26 athletes finished on the podium in their respective events. This represents more than half the number of athletes that Australia sent to Toronto. Six world records were broken by Australian athletes on their way to winning their respective events.
Lorraine McCoulough-Fry was an Australian Paralympic swimmer, athlete and table tennis player.
Australia competed at the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, Netherlands. It was the 6th Summer Paralympic Games in which Australia had competed. These Games were the biggest Paralympics yet, with 1,973 people participating. Of those participants, 57 were Australian. The team was made up of 45 men and 12 women, and was Australia's largest team to compete at any Paralympic Games so far.
Lynette Margaret "Lyn" Lillecrapp, OAM is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She contracted paralytic polio at the age of two months. Lillecrapp started her competitive swimming career in 1974, and competed at the 1976 Toronto, 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Summer Paralympics.
S4, SB3, SM4 are disability swimming classifications used for categorising swimmers based on their level of disability. Swimmers in this class have coordination problems affecting all four of their limbs, or have movement in their arms, some trunk function and no leg function. Events this class can participate in include 50m and 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly, 50m Breaststroke, and 150m Individual Medley events. The class competes at the Paralympic Games.
S3, SB2, SM3 are disability swimming classifications used for categorising swimmers based on their level of disability. People in this class have some arm and hand function, but no use of their trunk and legs. They have severe disabilities in all their limbs. Swimmers in this class have a variety of different disabilities including quadriplegia from spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy and multiple amputations.
Megan Romano is an American competition swimmer who specializes in backstroke and freestyle events. She is part of the current American record women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay team, and is the short-course yards American record-holder in the 200-yard freestyle and 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Along with her Georgia Bulldogs teammates, she won the NCAA Division I women's team championship in 2013.
Paige Leonhardt is an Australian swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where she won a silver medal. She has been selected to compete at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
Arjola Trimi is an Italian Paralympic swimmer competing in S4 classification events. She competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, and 2020 Summer Paralympics, in Women's 4 × 50 mixed freestyle relay, winning a silver medal.
Katja Dedekind is an Australian Paralympic vision-impaired swimmer and goalball player. She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games and two bronze medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
The Faroe Islands sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. They sent one participant, Krista Mørkøre, who participated in three events in swimming. Her top finish was 10th in women's 400 m freestyle S10, and she did not qualify for the finals of any of her three events.
Hannah Elizabeth Aspden is an American Paralympic swimmer. She was the youngest swimmer on Team USA to medal at either the Olympics or Paralympics in 2016. During the 2019–20 season at Queens University of Charlotte, Aspden broke two American Paralympic Short Course Meters Swimming records in both the 100-Meter Backstroke and the 100-Meter Freestyle.