The success the Canadian women have found in the pool at the Rio Olympics is inspiring girls across the country to dive into the sport, including a young woman in Moncton who's gearing up for her own time in Rio, at the Paralympic Games in September.
She's lived in cities across Canada and the United States, but Moncton's Danielle Dorris has always been able to call the pool home.
At thirteen years old, she's the youngest Paralympic swimmer in Canada’s history.
Dorris was born with only a portion of her arms, but says it's never held her back in sports.
“When I swim in the water and I'm racing, I'm thinking about getting the best time, it's just fun,” says Dorris.
When Dorris was ten and living in Texas, her coach predicted she would one day take part in the Paralympics.
“He told us 'you're going to take away our future Paralympian and I think that must have stuck in the back of her mind,” says Wanda Dorris, Danielle’s mother.
Three years later, Dorris has captured three national records and has earned a spot on the Paralympic Rio squad, something she says she didn't expect to happen so soon.
“Tokyo was my goal for 2020,” says Dorris. “Now that I knew that I could make it, I was just like 'let's try this.' I only realized it at trials.”
“Everything we had done to try and get to that point, it just fell into place perfectly,” says Ryan Allen, Dorris’ coach.
Now, the excitement is at an all-time high after watching fellow Canadian Penny Oleksiak capture the podium and the hearts of the nation.
“I'm gonna get to swim in the same pool as them,” says Dorris. “How cool is that, right? And then Penny is doing a phenomenal meet there, that could be one of us.”
“She's not much older than Danielle, specifically, even to have Danielle locally get to that same stage, it shows it's a possibility and it instills an excitement,” says Allen.
Dorris has plenty to look forward to after Rio, with events like the 2017 World Para Swimming Championships in Mexico City on the horizon.
With files from CTV's Cami Kepke
