Krystal Leesa Shaw (born 14 February 1994) 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 ...

Paralympic swimmer Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Para ...

who competes in international level events. When she was born, she was diagnosed with

arthrogryposis Arthrogryposis (AMC) describes congenital joint contracture in two or more areas of the body. It derives its name from Greek, literally meaning "curving of joints" (', "joint"; ', late Latin form of late Greek ', "hooking"). Children born with one ...

and was born with

club feet Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

, a dislocated hip and underdeveloped legs. She also had

gastroschisis Gastroschisis is a birth defect in which the baby's intestines extend outside of the abdomen through a hole next to the belly button. The size of the hole is variable, and other organs including the stomach and liver may also occur outside the ba ...

and doctors thought that she would never walk however she did manage to walk after having pins in her leg and a metal frame for six months when she was five years old, after many surgeries she took her first steps aged six years old.

Swimming career

Shaw started swimming aged nine when she had to develop her muscles then started competing in major championships aged fourteen, she won two silver medals in a major competition where she competed against swimmers from her native country,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. She competed for

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

province team in the Canada Games and won a bronze medal. She participated in Canada's national Paralympic swimming team at the 2009 IPC Swimming World Championships. She had to take a seven-year break after developing a

blood clot A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of c ...

in her leg and was not allowed to swim. She resumed her career after her long break. Her highest achievement was competing for

Canada at the 2019 Parapan American Games Canada participated in the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru from August 23 to September 1, 2019. Medalists Athletics ;Men's track ;Men's field ;Women's track ;Women's field Badminton Canada have secured seven quotas in badmin ...

where she won four medals in eight events.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Krystal 1994 births Living people Paralympic swimmers of Canada Sportspeople from Moose Jaw Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games