Joanne Mucz (née Vergara; born March 6, 1972) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

retired Paralympic medalist in swimming. She won eight medals at the Paralmypic Games with five of them at the

1992 Summer Paralympics )( es, Deporte Sin Límites) , nations = 82 (BCN)75 (MAD) , athletes = 3,020 (BCN)1,600 (MAD) , opened_by = Queen Sofía , opening = 3 September (BCN)15 September (MAD) , closing = 14 September (BCN)22 September (MAD) , even ...

. After her retirement in 1996, Mucz was named into the

Terry Fox Hall of Fame The Canadian Disability Hall of Fame (formerly the Terry Fox Hall of Fame), recognizes "outstanding Canadians who have made extraordinary contributions to enriching the quality of life for people with physical disabilities". It is run by the Canadia ...

and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2006.

Early life and education

Joanne Mucz was born on March 6, 1972, in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. She started swimming as a child and became a member of the Manta Swim Club in Winnipeg at the age of nine.

Career

At North American events, Mucz won five events at the 1985 nationals held by the United States Amputee Athletic Association. During her races, Mucz broke five world records ranging from the 100 metres backstroke to the

200 metres individual medley The 200-metre individual medley is a race in competitive swimming in which swimmers compete in all 4 strokes (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle) in one race, with each leg being 50 metres in length. The stroke order is different t ...

. That year at the 1985 Canada Games for the Physically Disabled, Mucz made five Canadian records. At that event, Mucz also remade world records in the 100 metres

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

, 100 metres

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

and the 200 metres individual medley. Mucz won six medals at both the 1986 World Championships for the Disabled and the 1987 International Games for the Disabled. She repeated her medal performance at the World Championships for the Disabled in 1990 and the 1991 Stoke-Mandeville Wheelchair Games. Outside of her swimming career, Mucz was a part of the Western Canada Summer Games in 1995 as a special guest captain and a manager at the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

Paralympics

Alternatively, Mucz's first Paralympic Games was at the

1984 Summer Paralympics The 1984 International Games for the Disabled, canonically the 1984 Summer Paralympics were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. There were two separate competitions: one in Stoke Mandeville, England, United Kingdom for wheelchair athletes ...

where she did not medal. Her following Paralympic Games saw her broke world records at the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officially. Bidding proc ...

and

while winning her final medals. Mucz retired in 1992.

Awards and honours

Mucz was inducted into the

in 1996, and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2006. In 2012, Mucz was awarded with the

Circle of Excellence A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is consta ...

Swimming Canada Swimming Canada is the Canadian national governing body for competitive swimming in the country. Swimming Canada oversees the management of all swim programs throughout the nation and provides the foundation for beginner-level athletes to train ...

Personal life

Mucz was married in 2001 and currently has three kids.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mucz, Joanne 1972 births Canadian amputees S9-classified para swimmers Swimmers from Winnipeg Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Paralympic swimmers for Canada Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Disability Hall of Fame Living people Paralympic medalists in swimming Canadian female freestyle swimmers Canadian female backstroke swimmers Canadian female breaststroke swimmers Canadian female butterfly swimmers Canadian female medley swimmers