Danielle Dorris made New Brunswick proud with her gold medal win in the 50M Butterfly at Tokyo 2020. As she gears up for the Paris Paralympics, we caught up with Danielle to hear about her historic victory and her mindset as she prepares for Paris, 2024.
New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame: First of all, you’ve already made history at the Paralympics, winning gold in the 50m butterfly in Tokyo, 2020. Could you walk us through that day and that moment?
Danielle Dorris: The day of my 50m butterfly was definitely an emotional one. Starting off with the morning, I set a world record in the prelims, which meant a lot going into the finals. It showed that what I was going to do at night was going to be something fast. That day, my coach told me that I did the time he thought I would in the morning, so he had no idea what I was capable of doing that evening. After I won my gold medal, setting a new world record in the same day with a time of 32.99, I was over the moon. It's a day I'll never forget.
NBSHF: Are you traveling to train prior to the 2024 Paralympics?
DD: Prior to the 2024 Paralympics, the Canadian para swim team is traveling together for a training camp in Vichy, France, two weeks before the games start. This will help us adjust to the time zone change and get together as a team.
NBSHF: What has training been like leading up to the 2024 Paralympics?
DD: Training has been really focused on getting race-ready. We’ve been practicing in race suits and simulating races, so I have more opportunities to get up to race speed. We’ve also been doing sets at pace speed for my longer event, so I know what speeds it will take to achieve my best times, which is always the ultimate goal in my mind.
NBSHF: I’m curious about how swimming might be a bit unique for you. Were your training best practices well-established when you started swimming, or did you and your coaches have to be innovative or creative in any way?
DD: When I first started swimming, I was very lucky to join a team that didn’t see me as having a disability—they treated me like any other kid learning how to swim competitively. I swam with kids who were at my speed and skill level. When I switched to CNBO, the club I train with now, it was similar at the beginning. But as I and the others got older, it became more obvious that I was much slower than everyone else. My coach and I had to find a way for me to still train with the same group, even if they were much faster, because they were my friends. We figured out that it was easy to have me do my own practice while the others did theirs, and we’d just work around each other. It was definitely a learning process, but after a while, it became second nature for everyone to work together.
NBSHF: When was this athletic journey the most difficult for you, and what did you do to overcome that?
DD: The most challenging moment during my athletic journey was definitely when the pandemic hit. Being in a sport that requires a facility to be open and running to allow access to a pool for training was very difficult when everything shut down. I had lost the thing I needed to do my sport. There were a lot of questions about what I was supposed to do and how I was supposed to train. I had to accept that training was going to look very different, and I had to stay motivated to keep going. Our solution ended up being training in my outdoor swim spa in the middle of winter, even during snowstorms. It was fun, but it did the job of keeping me fit and ready to go back to the pool when it reopened.
NBSHF: Who have been the most influential role models for you?
DD: One of my biggest role models when I was younger was Jessica Long, a para swimmer who is a double amputee below the knees. I looked up to her when I first started swimming—she was such an inspiration to me.
NBSHF: As a role model, what would you say to younger para athletes who might be considering competing internationally?
DD: I always tell younger athletes, para or not, to give something a try—whether it’s sports, art, or music. You’ll never know if you like it unless you try, and that something might lead you to something great.
NBSHF: Is there anything else you’d like to say to our New Brunswick audience?
DD: I feel very honored to be representing New Brunswick and Canada on the international stage. I hope I’m making everyone proud.
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