Stephanie Dixon once shaved her head to make herself look tough in front of rival swimmers at the Sydney, Australia Paralympics nearly 18 years ago.
Really, she was just a nervous 16-year-old with just one leg – who went on to win five gold medals and set a new Canadian record at the 2000 Games.
On the weekend, the now 34-year-old Dixon, who was born with just one leg, was training a new generation of Canadian Swimmers at Truro’s Rath-Eastlink Community Centre, in her Swim Like A Girl weekend camp.
“It’s wild to look back, my swimming career feels like another lifetime ago,” said Dixon. “I’m just so grateful for all the people who were behind me and believed in me… I can’t believe how much I learned and grew as a person through my time as a swimmer.”
She said it’s those experiences that help her now in her coaching career.
Returning from Sydney, she felt proud and was eager to share her achievements with high school classmates. Turned out, they had no idea what the Paralympics were.
Feeling disillusioned and self-conscious, Dixon didn’t join her school’s swim team and wore a prosthetic leg in class.
It was only when she left high school to complete a psychology degree at the University of Victoria that she slowly overcame her insecurities. Dixon swapped her prosthetic leg for crutches, braving stares from people whenever she went out.
“There was a little bit of explaining to do,” she recalled.
None the less, she went out clubbing and dancing with friends, slowly embracing her body for what it was. She urged her young audience to also take pride in their bodies.
“My message for them is to be empowered by your body, to focus on what your body can do rather than what it looks like; strength is beauty…”
Dixon competed in Athens 2004 and Beijing in 2008, as well as the 2007 ParaPan American Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2010 IPC World Swimming Championships in Eindhoven, Holland.
In Athens, Dixon faced a new competitor who beat her six times, leaving her with one gold medal to take home. She scored one more gold in Beijing four years later.
Her confidence steadily grew and by 2008 Dixon took on more of a mentorship role for younger Paralympic athletes, helping them find their place on the Canadian team.
She also learned to navigate the pitfalls of an athlete’s life.
While some athletes take drugs to boost abilities, there are Paralympians who try faking results on strength tests to make themselves appear weaker than they actually are and gain entry to an easier category. Dixon warned her students against such practices.
Instead, she urged them to focus on winning by building a positive mindset and self-image. Dixon also encouraged her students to take up other sports to build their muscle strength and reduce repetitive-strain on those used in swimming, as she once did.
“She’s very, very inspiring and she knows what she’s talking about when it comes to mindset and how to push yourself physically,” said student Susana Somerton from Dartmouth. “I’m looking forward to just pushing my own boundaries and seeing what I can do.”
