Skip to Content

UPDATE: Danielle Dorris Wins Gold At Paralympic Games

Moncton, NB, Canada / 91.9 The Bend
Tara Clow
Sep 3, 2021 | 6:24 AM


UPDATE: Danielle Dorris Wins Gold At Paralympic Games

Danielle Dorris and Coach Ryan Allen (Photo: Facebook)

A Paralympic swimmer is helping to put New Brunswick on the map.

Moncton Paraswimmer Danielle Dorris is bringing two medals home from Tokyo.

A gold for the s7 50 metre fly event, and a silver for S7 100 metre backstroke.

Dorris broke the world record in qualifiers, and then again in the finals to win the gold, swimming a 32.99, “This one (the gold) means so much more. Fly is very much the event that I love the most, so being able to medal, let alone win gold, is very special to me.”

It was Dorris’ second Paralympics, In 2016, at just 13 years old, she was the youngest Canadian athlete at the para Summer games in Rio.

Dorris was fortunate enough to have her home Coach Ryan Allen by her side at the Paralympics, “Having him here was very special and it helped me to relax a little more and treat it as if it was any other meet. It gave me a sense or normality.”

Without fans in the stands this time due to COVID-19, made it very different for the athletes, “Fellow teammates, they were being very loud. I feel us Canadians are one of the loudest groups when the swimmers are swimming. It very much helped us as swimmers.”

Dorris believes anyone can be successful if they put the hard work into it, “I think being able to do what I did here today is definitely going to inspire some future athletes to join sports.”

In addition to her two medals, Dorris also finished fourth in the 200 individual medley in Tokyo, missing the podium by five hundredths of a second on Day 3. Now that her second Games have concluded, she can’t wait to share her success with her family and friends back home.

“Let’s hope they’re all proud of me for this amazing swim. I’m happy to bring home the medal. I did it for them, really, and myself, but a lot for them.”