Stefanie McLeod Reid MBE (born 26 October 1984)[2] is a track and field paralympian who competes for Canada and Great Britain, competing mainly in category T44 long jump and sprint events. A multiple medal winner at European and world level, she won a bronze medal in the 200m at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and silver in the long jump at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
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| Full name | Stefanie McLeod Reid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 October 1984 (age 40) New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | StefReid.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | T44 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal history
editReid was born in New Zealand to British parents; her father is Scottish and her mother is English.[3] The family moved to Toronto, Canada when she was aged 4.[4] Reid lost her right foot in a boating accident, aged 16.[3] Her life was saved by a surgeon in Toronto who amputated her right leg below the knee.
Reid is married to Canadian wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos, and they now live in England where they both train at Loughborough University.[5] Reid is a Christian.[6]
In 2024, Reid campaigned for Nike to allow customers to buy single shoes, rather than pairs, if they were disabled, stating that the company used amputee mannequins in its stores without offering an option to only purchase individual trainers. In response, Nike said it was "exploring opportunities."[7][8][9]
Athletics career
editSports-loving before the accident, she played rugby union, but encountered difficulties after her amputation with referees who felt the artificial leg could injure other players. Deciding to concentrate on her studies, she gained a full scholarship to Queen's University to study biochemistry. After joining the campus track and field team, three years later she competed at the World Championships.[4]
Competing for Canada in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China, she won a bronze medal in the women's 200 metres - T44 event, went out in the first round of the women's 100 metres - T44 event and finished fifth in the women's Long jump - F44 event.[4] She switched allegiance to Great Britain at the start of 2010.[10]
In April 2013, it was announced that Reid would feature in the latest campaign for British high-street store Debenhams,[11] the first high street chain to use disabled models in its campaigns.[citation needed] Reid's photo was featured in British Vogue magazine in April 2013. The imagery celebrates diversity in the retail sector.[12]
Reid attempted to qualify to represent Scotland in the main long jump competition at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She did not meet the qualifying standard of 6.2 metres, although she set a world record for the T44 class at the Sainsbury's Glasgow Grand Prix (5.47m) whilst attempting to qualify.[13]
She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to Paralympic sport.[14][15]
Television career
editSince retiring as a full time athlete in June 2022, Reid began to carve out a career as a reporter, guest and presenter across a range of media outlets.
Reid was a semi-finalist on Celebrity MasterChef in 2018[16] and was a quarter-finalist on the fourteenth series of Dancing on Ice.[17]
In 2020, Reid was a commentator for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.[18]
In 2023, Reid was part of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's sports coverage team of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in Chile.[19]
References
edit- ^ "Stefanie Reid". Power of 10. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ "Stefanie Reid". Channel4. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ a b Lisa Adams (28 September 2010). "I'm desperate to win a gold medal for Scotland at London 2012, says paralympian Stefanie Reid". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ a b c "Stefanie Reid Interview". UK Athletics. 17 August 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ Rush, Richard (14 August 2014). "Reid wants a place at the top of the podium". loughboroughecho.net. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ^ "'My faith gives everything context and meaning'". Woman Alive. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Ewing, Lori (11 April 2024). "Paralympian Reid takes aim at Nike for inability to buy single shoes". Reuters. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ Gillibrand, Peter; Pandey, Manish (11 April 2024). "Paralympians urge Nike to allow single shoe sales". BBC Newsbeat. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ Weaver, Matthew (11 April 2024). "British Paralympian urges Nike to introduce single trainer sales". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ "Paralympian Reid switches to GB". BBC News. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ ""The new shape of high street fashion". London Evening Standard. 5 April 2013". 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ "Vogue Magazine". 12 April 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013.
- ^ "Stef's leap of faith". Evening Times. 28 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- ^ "No. 62150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2017. p. N22.
- ^ "Stef Reid appointed MBE in New Year Honours". Paralympics.Channel4.com. 29 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ "Pair through to Celebrity MasterChef semi-finals". Shropshire Star. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Morris, Nicky (6 March 2022). "Dancing on Ice viewers left 'incredibly upset' after quarter-final show". Hello! Magazine. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Radio Times. "All the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics pundits on Channel 4 – meet the presenters and commentators". Joe Julians. 25 August 2021
- ^ CBC Sports to provide in-depth coverage of the Santiago 2023 Pan American games. Retrieved 31 October 2023