Lakeisha Dawn Patterson, (born 5 January 1999) is an Australian

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 ...

. She won medals at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

and

2015 IPC Swimming World Championships The 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships was an international swimming competition for athletes with a disability. It was held in Glasgow, United Kingdom and took place from 13 to 19 July. Around 580 athletes from around 70 countries competed at ...

. At the

2016 Rio Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

, she won Australia's first gold medal of the Games in a world record time swim in the Women's 400m freestyle S8. At the

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympic ...

, she won the gold medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S9.

Personal

Patterson was born on 5 January 1999 in

Wodonga, Victoria Wodonga ( Waywurru: ''Wordonga'') is a city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA. Its population is approximately 3 ...

. She has early onset

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

and

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

left hemiplegia. In 2020, she is undertaking a Bachelor of Communication (majoring in Digital Media) at

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. She lives at

Caboolture, Queensland Caboolture () is a town and suburb in Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Caboolture had a population of 26,433 people. It is located on the north side of the Caboolture River, which separates the town from Morayfi ...

Career

Patterson started swimming at the age of three as part of her rehabilitation to overcome muscle stiffness. She is classified as an S9 swimmer. She initially trained under Steve Hadler a
Southern Cross Swimming Club

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

and Suellyn Fraser at the Bribie Island Aquatic Leisure Centre. Lakeisha Patterson Rio2016

At the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, she won the bronze medal in the Women's 100 m Freestyle S8. Competing at the

in Glasgow, she won a gold medal in the Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points, silver medals in the Women's 50 m Freestyle S8 and Women's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay 34 points and bronze medals in the Women's 100 m Freestyle S8 and Women's 400 m Freestyle S8. She finished fifth in the Women's 100m Backstroke S8. In April 2016, she was selected as part of the national team for the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. She won Australia's first gold medal of the Rio Paralympics in winning the Women's 400m Freestyle S8, she set a new World record, Paralympic record, and Oceania record of 4:40:33, slicing 0.11 seconds of the previous world record time set by her long-time idol, American

Jessica Long Jessica Tatiana Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-American Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at five Paralympic Games, winnin ...

, who came in second. She was a member of the team that won the gold medal in the Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points. Three silver medals were won in the Women's 50 m and 100m Freestyle S8 behind

Maddison Elliott Maddison Gae Elliott, (born 3 November 1998) is an Australian swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, she became the youngest Australian Paralympic medallist by winning bronze medals in the women's 400 m and 100 m freesty ...

and the Women's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay 34 points. In reflection on competing at Rio 2016, Patterson says "If someone told me one year ago that this is where I'd be I would have said, 'no, this is a joke.'" But after winning her first gold medal against Jessica Long, she states "I knew I had to attack and go out hard and keep fighting for it, and I knew she was right behind me, so I just had to keep going forward." At the

2019 World Para Swimming Championships The 2019 World Para Swimming Championships is the 2019 edition of the World Para Swimming Championships run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The championships were held from February to June in seven countries across five continent ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, she won the gold medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 and did not medal in three other events. At the

, in her only event, she won the gold medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 with a time of 4:36.68. This repeated her success in Rio but this time she was in the S9 class as she was reclassified as an S9 swimmer, a class for less physically impaired swimmers. At the

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 ...

Birmingham, England Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, she finished 5th in the Women's 200 m individual medley SM10. In 2015, she was coached by

Jan Cameron Jan Cameron is a New Zealand-Australian businesswoman and formerly Australia's fourth-richest woman. She made her fortune as the founder of the Kathmandu clothing and outdoor equipment company. She currently lives in Bicheno, Tasmania. She ru ...

at the

University of the Sunshine Coast The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. After opening with 524 students in 1996 as the Sunshine Coast University College, it was later renamed the University of the ...

Paralympic Training Centre. In early 2016, she moved to coach Harley Connolly.

Recognition

*2016 – Queensland Athlete with a Disability Award *2016 –

Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association The Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association is the peak body for sport, recreation and fitness for people with a physical disability or visual impairment, vision impairment in the Australian state of Queensland. The not-for-profit organisatio ...

Senior Female Athlete of the Year. *2017 –

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

*2017 – Swimming Australia Mrs. Gina Rinehart Patron Award *2018 - UniSport Australia - Outstanding Performance by an Athlete with a Disability *2019 - Swimming Australia Paralympic Program Swimmer of the Year (joint winner with Tiffany Thomas Kane) *2019 -

’s Sportswoman of the Year

References

External links

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2017-04-04
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Lakeisha 1999 births Living people Australian female freestyle swimmers S8-classified para swimmers S9-classified para swimmers Female Paralympic swimmers for Australia Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Swimmers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sportswomen from Queensland People from Wodonga