Katja Dedekind

Katja Dedekind (born 17 August 2001) is an Australian Paralympic vision-impaired swimmer and goalball player. She won a swimming bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.[1][2]

Katja Dedekind
Personal information
Full nameKatja Dedekind
Nickname(s)Kitty-Kat
Nationality Australia
Born (2001-08-17) 17 August 2001
Durban, South Africa
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke and Freestyle
ClassificationsS13
ClubUSC Spartans
CoachNathan Doyle
Medal record
Women's paralympic swimming
Representing  Australia
Paralympics
2016 Rio de Janeiro100 m backstroke S13

Personal

Dedekind was born 17 August 2001 in Durban, South Africa.[3] She has a twin brother.[3] From congenital cataracts and amblyopia, she is blind in the right eye and has limited vision in the left eye.[4]

Previously from Kenmore, Brisbane,[4] she now lives on the Sunshine Coast and attends a local high school.[5]

In March 2018, Dedekind had the honour of being a Queen's Baton Relay runner as one of 3500 Australians for the XXI Commonwealth Games.[4]

Sporting career

Dedekind competes in swimming and goalball. In swimming, she is classified as S13.

She took up goalball in 2012 after attending a ‘come and try’ day. At the 2012, Australian Goalball Championships in Melbourne, she was awarded the title ‘Best Defensive Junior Player’.[3] She was a member of the winning team at the 2013 Australian Invitational Cup in Sydney.[6]

Dedekind took up swimming at an early age with her twin brother, but did not start competing until 2012.[3] At the 2015 Swimming Queensland Sprint Championships, she was awarded the 'Swimmer of the Meet' award for swimmers with a disability.[3] In 2015, she won three gold and five silver medals at the 2015 SSA Pacific School Games. At 2016 Australian Swimming Championships, she won the bronze medal in the women's 200 m freestyle and finished fifth women's 50 m backstroke and women's 50 m butterfly.[3] She is a member of the UQ Swim Club and was coached by David Heyden.[3][7]

In 2016, Dedekind was selected to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.[8] She competed in four events and achieved one podium finish. She won a bronze medal in the women's 100 m backstroke S13. She achieved seventh in 400 m freestyle S13.[9] but didn't progress to the finals in 50 m freestyle S13,[10] 100 m freestyle S13 and 100 m freestyle S13.[11]

In August 2018 at the Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships in Cairns, Queensland, just before her seventeenth birthday, Dedekind took gold with her fastest competitive time for the 100 m backstroke.[12] She also achieved bronze in the women’s 200 m individual medley for the SM12/13 classification, and silver in the 400 m freestyle S13. A member of the Australian Dolphins swim team, Dedekind is preparing for 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games,[13] with her coach Nathan Doyle.[5]

Her motto is 'If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you'.[6]

Recognition

References
  1. "Australian Paralympic Swimming Team announced". Australian Paralympic Committee News, 1 August 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  2. "Katja Dedkind". Rio Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  3. "Katja Dedkind". Australian Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  4. O’Malley, Brendan (21 November 2017). "An inspiring young swimmer will carry the Queen's baton in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games". Courier-Mail (Brisbane). Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  5. "Get to know Katja Dedekind". Swimming Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  6. "Katja Dedekind-Goalball". Sporting Dreams website. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  7. "True Story Tuesday: Katja Dedekind & Dave Heyden". YouTube. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  8. "Swimming (Athletes)". Athletes Selected for Rio. Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  9. "Katja Dedekind". Rio Official Results. Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  10. "Katja Dedekind". Rio Official Results. Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  11. "Katja Dedekind". Rio Official Results. Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  12. "Cairns: Katja later – Dedekind and Dolphins deliver more gold for Australia". Swimming Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  13. Cumming, Stuart (3 August 2018). "Teen targets Tokyo success in crucial build-up swim". Susnshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  14. "2016 Annual Awards winners". Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association website. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
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