Stéphanie Dixon

Stephanie Dixon, (born February 10, 1984) is a Canadian swimmer. She is a three-time Paralympian and competed at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Paralympic Games prior to retiring from competitive swimming in 2010. During her career, Dixon won nineteen Paralympic medals and seven Parapan American Games medals, and was a 10-time world champion. She is one of Canada's most successful Paralympians.

Early life and education Dixon was born in Brampton, Ontario to parents Mark Dixon and Joanne MacDonald, and has an older brother, Matthew. She was born missing her right leg and hip and with an omphalocele and began to swim at the age of two.

She moved to Victoria in 2003 to study psychology from the University of Victoria, where she earned a B.A. and swam for the University of Victoria Vikes. In 2021, Dixon began pursuing a master's degree in kinesiology at the University of Toronto. She finished her master's degree from the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education in November 2023.

Career

Para Swimming At the age of 13, Dixon began competitive swimming against athletes without disabilities. At the age of 14, she joined Canada's national Paralympic team, competing in the S9 classification. At age 13, she set a Canadian record in the women's 100-metre backstroke with a time of 1:21.69. She won five medals at the 1997 Canada Games and five medals at the 1997 United States National Championships for Swimmers with a Disability. At the 1998 National Youth Championship in Sherbrooke, she set her first world record, racing the women's 200-metre backstroke in 2:39.39. She won five gold medals at the 1998 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Swimming Championships and set two world records (women's 100-metre backstroke and women's 4x100-metre medley relay). With 5 golds, she set the Canadian record for most golds at a single Games. Representing her country again at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, she won one gold, six silver, and one bronze. She participated in the Paralympic Games for the third time in Beijing in 2008.

In 2010, Dixon retired from competitive swimming.

Post-competition In 2011, Dixon moved to the Yukon and became head coach of the Yukon Graylings Master Swim Club. She was part of CBC's broadcasting team for the 2016 and 2018 Paralympic Games. After serving as Team Canada's assistant chef de mission for the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games, and the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2016, she was awarded the Order of Sport, marking her induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2018.