A Halton athlete has done her country proud.
Swimmer Katie Cosgriffe has won a medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. Even more impressively, she's done so at only 18 years old.
Cosgriffe is an Oakville Aquatic Club swimmer and lives in Burlington, achieving a remarkable milestone by winning the bronze medal in the 100m Butterfly (S10 category) at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
It was an exciting finish as she snagged the bronze in 1:07.22, edging out Australia’s Jasmine Greenwood by just 0.13 seconds. British swimmers took gold and silver: Faye Rogers won gold in 1:05.84, just .57 seconds ahead of Callie-Ann Warrington.
Katie's hard work, determination, and dedication have culminated in this fantastic achievement.
"I’ve had this in my mind for a while," said Cosgriffe in an interview with Swimming Canada. "I knew this was always a possibility, but I didn’t see it actually happening."
"The fact now it’s real, I’m really happy how it went. I’m not overly (happy) with my time but I can’t complain about that because I won a medal!"
The last year has been moving fast for Cosgriffe -- she only received her international classification in April 2023 and competed at the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships, where she had both a fourth and fifth-place finish.
"My dreams in sport shifted pretty quick,” she continues. "It was pretty sudden for me to find out I could go to the Paralympics. My goal has been on this race. Now that I’m actually here it’s surreal."
Cosgriffe is eligible as a Paralympian after a 2021 diagnosis with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which causes sensations, and loss of normal functions, in the feet, arms, hands and legs.
Katie's Paralympic journey is far from over: she's slated to compete again this Friday, Sept. 6 and Saturday, Sept. 7 in the 100m Backstroke and the 200m Individual Medley.
Fans can cheer her on by tuning into CBC, which will air all the competitions live.