The Martlet

UVic psychology student Stephanie Dixon will return home from the Paralympic Games on Sept. 19 with four medals in hand.

For the 24-year-old who was born without a right leg, the medals did not come easy. Dixon opened the Games with a 100-metre butterfly performance, where, despite bettering her own Canadian record, she missed out on a medal by 0.06 seconds. But Dixon’s experience from competing in the Paralympics in Athens and Sydney helped her through.

“It was pretty disappointing,” she said in a phone interview from Beijing. “It started out on a rough note for sure. But I’ve been doing this for so long that I can put a bad race behind me and use it as motivation in other events.”

Dixon said she did do a bit of both, and it paid off. In her next event, she won a bronze in the 100-metre freestyle.

“The bronze medal in the 100-metre freestyle is the one that’s closest to my heart from these games,” Dixon said. “It’s not my best race — I haven’t had a personal best in it in six years. It definitely took the most courage and determination to get.”

Dixon then won silver medals in the 200-metre individual medley and 400-metre freestyle. But she saved her best for last, winning a gold medal in the 100-metre backstroke and breaking the world record in the process.

“It’s the most amazing thing to have year after year of hard work come down to one race,” Dixon said. “But the feeling of having your national anthem played in front of everyone — nobody can ever take that away from you.”

The swimmer said it seemed like she had the support of an entire city behind her while she was competing.

“My friends are keeping in touch through Facebook. My wall’s just covered every day with people cheering me on,” she said. “I even had a message from the DJs of Jack FM saying they’re rooting for me.”

But one person who wasn’t there to watch her compete in person was her club coach, Ron Jacks. He was expected to travel to Beijing with the swim team, but wasn’t able to after he suffered a heart infection. Dixon talked with Jacks twice a day over Skype to get advice on races, and said she wouldn’t be where she is now without his support and that of UVic coach Peter Vizsolyi.

“I dedicate my entire experience to [Jacks],” Dixon said. “Even though he wasn’t there physically, I brought him to Beijing in my heart.”

Dixon also fed off of her competitors. She once again faced South African rival Natalie Du Toit, who Dixon finished second to in four races at the last Paralympics. But Dixon said the competitors are friends and help to push each other.

“To get the best out of myself, I need her to get the best out of herself,” Dixon said.

Even after winning four medals, Dixon’s biggest challenge may still be yet to come. She has missed the first three weeks of school so will have lots of catching up to do. But before she goes back to the books, she’s going to celebrate. The swim team hit the town Monday night, and Dixon spent Tuesday visiting Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall of China with comedian Rick Mercer, host of the Rick Mercer Report on CBC.

Dixon admitted she’s never seen the show before, but enjoyed hanging out with the comedian.

“He’s so great,” she said. “He always jumps right in there.”

The gold medal marked a great finish for the swimmer, who said this will probably be her last Paralympics — at least for swimming. She’s been talking to people with the Canadian Paralympic ski team and may hit the slopes for her next challenge.

“I’d love to start something from the bottom,” Dixon said. “I’d love to have a clean slate.”