Jessica Tuomela
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 August 1983 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Sport | Paralympic swimming |
| Disability | Retinoblastoma |
| Disability class | S11 |
Medal record | |
Jessica Tuomela (born August 3, 1983) is a Canadian paralympic competitive swimmer who was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Tuomela was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, to a Portuguese mother and Finnish Canadian father.[1] Although blinded by retinoblastoma at the age of three, she has succeeded in competitive swimming despite her disability. Competing at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia, Tuomela earned a silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle as well as three sixth-place finishes in the 100 freestyle, 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter medley.
Her accomplishments merited an invitation to the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, where she placed fourth in the 50-meter freestyle and had two sixth-place finishes in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke. Tuomela also set five Canadian records in swimming. She won two gold medals in May, 2006 at the Belgian Paralympic Championships in the 50-meter breaststroke and 100-meter backstroke. She also took the silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke. Tuomela currently resides in British Columbia where she has been working with dogs, training in scent discrimination to find missing persons. In May 2023, she successfully tracked an individual with dementia who had gone for a walk and didn't return. [2]
In 1998 Tuomela was one of 35 young people from North America and Russia to win the "Yes I Can" award, which recognizes the accomplishments of people with disabilities. She was honored in Sault Ste. Marie in 1992 for her academic achievements. On September 30, 2006, Tuomela became one of the first ten inductees in the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame.
In June 2022, Tuomela and guide Emma Skaug were named to Canada's 2022 Commonwealth Games team.[3]
References[edit]
- Swimming Canada news story on Jessica Tuomela
- Sootoday.com news story on Jessica Tuomela
- Sootoday.com news story on Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame inductees
- Jessica Tuomela at the International Paralympic Committee
- Jessica Tuomela at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived)
Notes[edit]
- ^ "Jessica Tuomela". Triathlon Canada. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ https://globalnews.ca/news/9734149/paralympian-guide-dog-find-missing-woman-bc/
- ^ "Triathlon Canada Names Eight Athletes to 2022 Commonwealth Games Team". www.triathloncanada.com/. Triathlon Canada. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  | This Canadian swimming biography is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
.svg){kind=small}   | This article about a Paralympic medalist of Canada is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1983 births
- Living people
- Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
- Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
- Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic swimmers for Canada
- Paralympic silver medalists for Canada
- Sportspeople from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
- Canadian blind people
- Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
- Canadian people of Finnish descent
- Paralympic medalists in swimming
- Canadian female freestyle swimmers
- Canadian female backstroke swimmers
- Canadian female breaststroke swimmers
- S11-classified para swimmers
- 20th-century Canadian women
- 21st-century Canadian women
- Canadian female triathletes
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada
- Commonwealth Games medallists in triathlon
- Triathletes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- Canadian people of Portuguese descent
- Sportspeople of Portuguese descent
- Canadian swimming biography stubs
- Canadian Paralympic medalist stubs