Golden Swimmer: Tess Routliffe

Swimmer Tess Routliffe is training for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.

November 20, 2018 | Jeff Rollings | 25 Under 25

Golden Swimmer: Tess Routliffe, 20, Caledon. Photo by Pete Paterson.

When In The Hills featured Tess Routliffe as a 2016 Local Hero, she was fresh from setting records and hauling in medals for swimming at both the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto.

Since then Tess has moved to Montreal where she began studying sociology at Concordia University and is training at a Swimming Canada national training centre. She says, “I think it was the perfect step for me. I’m so grateful to be part of such a great group of athletes and staff.”

It hasn’t been without effort though. She’s doing her best to learn French and admits, “I have sure realized the level of difficulty it is to train the amount of hours we do while continuing my degree.”

There may be challenges, but she hasn’t let them throw her off her game. This year she made Canada’s Commonwealth Games team. She won gold at a World Series meet in Italy, and silver at another in England, where she also broke her own Canadian record. Tess is looking forward to competitions in Australia and Malaysia, and her powerhouse talent will be on full display at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.