Tess Routliffe (born 27 September 1998) is a Canadian

Paralympic swimmer Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming (sport), swimming for athletes with disability, disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Swimming at the Summer Paralympics, Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions through ...

and winner of multiple world championship and Paralympic medals. She represented Canada at the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

in Rio de Janeiro, where she won the silver medal in the women's 200 m individual medley SM7.

Early life and education

Routliffe is the youngest of three daughters and was born in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

while her parents Robert Routliffe and Catherine MacLennan, were on an around-the-world sailing adventure. She was born with

hypochondroplasia Hypochondroplasia (HCH) is a developmental disorder caused by an autosomal dominant genetic defect in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 gene ('' FGFR3'') that results in a disproportionately short stature, micromeliaupdate 2013 and a head t ...

. Her family moved back to Canada when she was six months old, eventually settling in

Caledon, Ontario Caledon (; 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population 76,581) is a town (Ontario), town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. The name comes from a shortened form of Caledonia, the Roman name for what is ...

. She has two sisters, Tara and

Erin Erin is a personal name taken from the Hiberno-English word for Ireland, originating from the Irish word ''"Éirinn"''. "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in preposi ...

, the latter a tennis Grand Slam event winner in women's doubles. Routliffe began swimming at age 3 with the Dorado Stars in Caledon. Routliffe attended

Mayfield Secondary School Mayfield Secondary School is located in Caledon, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the Regional Arts Schools in the Peel District School Board. Notable alumni * Kyle Quincey, NHL Defenceman * Megan Bonnell, folk musician * Clifton Brown, Muay Th ...

in Caledon. She has a degree in communications and human relations from

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

Career

Routliffe began competitive swimming at age 14. She made six finals and won silver in the 100m backstroke at the 2014 Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships when she was 16. In 2014, she was awarded the Para Swimming Athlete of the Year Award at the Swim Ontario Annual General Meeting. She won six medals at the 2015 Speedo Cam Am Para Swimming Championships in Toronto. Routliffe made her international para-swimming debut at the 2015 Parapan Am Games in Toronto. She won gold medals in the 50-metre and100-metre freestyle, the 100-metre breaststroke, and the100-metre backstroke, and a silver medal in the 200-metre individual medley. At the 2015 International Paralympic Committee World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, she won silver in the 200-metre individual medley and finished fourth in four other races. Mike Thompson recruited her to the

Swimming Canada Swimming Canada is the national governing body for competitive swimming in Canada. It was established in 1909, as the Canadian Amateur Swimming Association. Swimming Canada oversees the management of all swim programs throughout the nation and ...

’s Para-swimming Intensive Training Program in Quebec. At the Rio 2016 Paralympics, Routliffe won silver in the SM7 200-m individual medley, establishing a new Canadian record. She also made it to five individual finals at the Games. She won bronze in the 200-metre individual medley at the

2019 World Para Swimming Championships The 2019 World Para Swimming Championships was the tenth 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 contine ...

, her first career medal at worlds. Routliffe missed the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games after breaking her spine at the

L1 vertebra The lumbar vertebrae are located between the thoracic vertebrae and pelvis. They form the lower part of the back in humans, and the tail end of the back in quadrupeds. In humans, there are five lumbar vertebrae. The term is used to describe th ...

while weight training. She made her return to competition at the 2022 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials, where she won the multi-class 100-m breaststroke. At the

2022 World Para Swimming Championships The 2022 World Para Swimming Championships was the 11th edition of the World Para Swimming Championships, an international swimming competition for athletes with a disability. It was held in Madeira from 12 to 18 June. The competition was origin ...

she won gold in the 100-metre breaststroke SB7, silver in the 200 individual medley SM7, and bronze in the 50 butterfly S7. At the

2023 World Para Swimming Championships The 2023 World Para Swimming Championships was the 12th edition of the World Para Swimming Championships, an international swimming competition for swimmers with disabilities. It was held in Manchester, Great Britain from 31 July to 6 August 202 ...

in Manchester, she won gold in the women’s SM7 200m medley and the women's 100m breaststroke SB7, silver in the women's 50m butterfly S7, and a bronze in the women's 100-metre freestyle S7. Routliffe is set to compete in the women’s 50m butterfly S7, 100m breaststroke SB7 and 200m individual medley SM7 at the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

Personal life

Her oldest sister,

, is a professional tennis player who represents New Zealand. Her other sister, Tara, played NCAA college volleyball.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Routliffe, Tess 1998 births Living people Canadian female backstroke swimmers Canadian female butterfly swimmers Canadian female breaststroke swimmers Canadian female freestyle swimmers Canadian female medley swimmers Paralympic swimmers for Canada Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada S7-classified para swimmers Swimmers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming 21st-century Canadian sportswomen Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Concordia University alumni Parapan American Games medalists in swimming Parapan American Games gold medalists for Canada Parapan American Games silver medalists for Canada