Tess Routliffe

Started: She began swimming competitively at age 13 with Dorado Stars in Caledon, ON, Canada. (caledonenterprise.com, 20 Aug 2015) Reason: "As a kid with two very athletic sisters, I was brought up playing different sports, which I loved. I tried lots of sports and followed them, but in grade nine swimming was the one that stuck. I grew up trying so many things and not finding where I was supposed to be. Once I got into swimming it was natural to me." (paralympic.ca, 09 Sep 2019; floswimming.com, 31 May 2017) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (swimming.ca, 06 Feb 2024) Awards: She shared Swimming Canada's Paralympic Program Female Swimmer of the Year award for 2023 with Danielle Dorris. (swimming.ca, 09 Feb 2024) She has twice been named Para Swimmer of the Year by Swim Ontario in Canada. (citynews.ca, 08 Feb 2016) Additional Info: OLYMPIC / PARALYMPIC SIBLINGS Her older sister Erin represented New Zealand in women's doubles tennis at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Tess said her sisters played an important role as she recovered from her 2021 injury. "My sisters were the biggest supporters, they had to be my nurses for six weeks. I'm forever grateful for them. I'm looking forward to Paris [the 2024 Paralympic Games] after missing Tokyo, it was a tough road to come back from my back injury. I can't wait. I was never hungrier than to qualify for Paris." (olympics.com, 29 Jul 2024) MUSIC VIDEO In 2022 she and fellow Canadian Para swimmer Danielle Kisser appeared in British band Coldplay's music video for the song 'Biutyful'. The video features a fictional puppet band called The Weirdos. "The moral of that video is everyone has their place, everyone's got to make it where they are. You might have a few troubles to get there, but everyone has their place. It's about getting Paralympic faces out there and allowing for the opportunity to be chosen for things like this because a lot of times, you'd see Olympic athletes being chosen for certain representations, but I think it's important that we're still getting Paralympic representation out there." (paralympic.org, 12 Aug 2022) NEW ZEALAND TO CANADA Her parents were sailors and travelled the world before settling down in New Zealand to start a family. She moved to Canada with her family at six months old. (paralympic.ca, 09 Sep 2019)

Sporting Relatives: Her older sister Erin has played tennis at elite level, representing New Zealand, and won the women's doubles title at the 2023 US Open in New York, NY, United States of America. Her older sister Tara played volleyball for the University of the Cumberlands in the United States of America. (SportsDeskOnline, 07 Oct 2023; espn.com, 12 Sep 2021; caledoncitizen.com, 11 Jul 2019; tennis.life, 11 Apr 2019; inthehills.ca, 22 Nov 2016)