Jessica Cooper Lewis

Started: She was introduced to wheelchair racing at age 13 by Canadian coach Ken Thom in Bermuda. She began training in 2010. (Athlete, 11 Nov 2019, 21 Oct 2015) Reason: "I have always loved different sports. We had an expo in Bermuda which involved many different sports. I considered team sports, but as there are not many people with a disability playing sports in Bermuda, I felt I had to go for an individual sport. When I was introduced to wheelchair racing in 2006 I instantly fell in love with it." (Athlete, 11 Nov 2019; paralympic.org, 12 Nov 2011) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (bernews.com, 27 Nov 2023) Milestones: In 2012 she became the first athletics competitor to represent Bermuda at the Paralympic Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 02 Sep 2012; bernews.com, 10 Sep 2012) Awards: She was flag bearer for Bermuda at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. She performed the same role at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 editions of the Games. (medias.paris2024.org, 28 Aug 2024; gettyimages.co.uk, 24 Aug 2021; myinfo.rio2016.com, 06 Sep 2016; bernews.com, 10 Sep 2012) She was named Female Athlete of the Year for 2019 at the Government of Bermuda's Annual Sports Awards. (islandstats.com, 05 Jan 2021; Facebook profile, 10 Jul 2020) She was Bermuda's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2011 Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. (paralympic.org, 12 Nov 2011) Additional Info: COACHES In 2023 she began working with coach Geoff Harris in Victoria, BC, Canada. She had spent the previous five years being coached by Curtis Thom, and the period before that working with Ken Thom, Curtis' father, who passed away in a scuba diving accident in 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa. "I'm so incredibly grateful for all coach Curtis did for me. I can't thank him enough for stepping in when he did to be sure I didn't lose the sport after Ken's passing. We should both be incredibly proud of what we accomplished in those five years, and I know Ken would be as well. Curtis and I both felt [moving to Victoria] was an opportunity I could not pass up." (royalgazette.com, 04 Jul 2023) NEW TRAINING Her coach Geoff Harris, whom she began working with in 2023, ran in the 800m for Canada at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. "Geoff has been phenomenal. It's been a complete 180-degree turn in terms of what I was used to doing and really it's given me a new love for the sport. Geoff is still obviously learning fully about the ins and outs of Para sport, but he has an amazing energy and is not afraid to try new things. For me it had become a case of doing the same things over and over again and so it's been really refreshing to try different things and have a bit of a reset to my preparation. There have been a lot of adjustments, including complete changes to my chair, and also changing my racing position so that I can execute better in the 100m specifically. There has been some trial and error and that will continue to be the case, but it's been really great to have a fresh perspective on things in training and trying out all sorts of new things." (royalgazette.com, 21 Nov 2023) OTHER ACTIVITIES In 2020 she was elected to serve as an athlete representative on the board of the Bermuda Paralympic Association. In 2022 she was appointed as a board member of the charity Windreach. (royalgazette.com, 17 Jun 2022; islandstats.com, 05 Jan 2021)

Sporting Relatives: Her mother Lorri served as Bermuda's chef de mission at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto, ON, Canada. (paralympic.org, 06 Aug 2015)