Despite being born with partially formed arms and hands, Paralympic swimmer Danielle Dorris isn’t letting that sink her.
In 2016, at age 13, she earned a spot as the youngest athlete ever to represent Canada at the Paralympic Games, and this week she visited her alma mater of Bessborough Middle School to deliver a motivational address.
“I have a lot of kids say oh my gosh you’re my inspiration,” says Dorris. “And I’m just like you don’t even know me, you just know part of my story, and I’m just there like I don’t want to let you down so I’ll just be your role model, and hopefully don’t disappoint you.”
She says when she began swimming she didn’t know it would lead here.
“I didn’t know about the Paralympics at the time, so I’m just like this is me just swimming for fun right now, then I found out that I have a chance to go places, I’m getting really into this, let’s keep going,” says Dorris. “I’m having so much fun.”
Dorris says the best piece of advice she has to offer is to believe in yourself, and not let anything put you down.
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(Photo Credit: Canadian Paralympic Committee)
