Jessica Tuomela (born August 3, 1983) is a

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competitive

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who was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Tuomela was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, to a Portuguese mother and

Finnish Canadian Finnish Canadians are Canadian citizens of Finnish ancestry or Finns who emigrated to and reside in Canada. In 2016, 143,645 Canadians claimed Finnish ancestry. Finns started coming to Canada in the early 1880s, and in much larger numbers in the e ...

father. Although blinded by

retinoblastoma Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common primary malignant intraocular cancer in children, and it is almost exclusively fo ...

at the age of three, she has succeeded in competitive swimming despite her

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. Competing at the

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, Tuomela earned a silver medal in the 50-metre

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as well as three sixth-place finishes in the 100 freestyle, 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter

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. Her accomplishments merited an invitation to the 2004 Paralympic Games in

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, where she placed fourth in the 50-meter freestyle and had two sixth-place finishes in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke. Tuomela also set five Canadian records in swimming. She won two gold medals in May, 2006 at the Belgian Paralympic Championships in the 50-meter

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

and 100-meter backstroke. She also took the silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke. Tuomela currently resides in Scotland pursuing post-secondary activities. In 1998 Tuomela was one of 35 young people from

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and

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to win the "Yes I Can" award, which recognizes the accomplishments of people with disabilities. She was honored in Sault Ste. Marie in 1992 for her academic achievements. On September 30, 2006, Tuomela became one of the first ten inductees in the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame. In June 2022, Tuomela and guide Emma Skaug were named to Canada's

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

team.

References

Swimming Canada news story on Jessica TuomelaSootoday.com news story on Jessica TuomelaSootoday.com news story on Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame inductees
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Notes

1983 births Living people Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Paralympic swimmers for Canada Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Canadian blind people Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Canadian people of Finnish descent Paralympic medalists in swimming Canadian female freestyle swimmers Canadian female backstroke swimmers Canadian female breaststroke swimmers S11-classified para swimmers 20th-century Canadian women 21st-century Canadian women Canadian female triathletes Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games medallists in triathlon Triathletes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Canadian people of Portuguese descent {{Canada-Paralympic-medalist-stub