Keira Kristina Stephens (born 17 March 2003) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

, she won two bronze medals. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she won a gold medal as a heat.

Personal life

Stephens was born on 17 March 2003 in England. She was born missing fingers on her left hand. She comes from

Hervey Bay, Queensland Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to t ...

and attended Xavier Catholic College.

Swimming career

Stephens started swimming at the Hervey Bay swimming club under coach Paul Jones. She is classified as a

S10 S10 may refer to: Automobiles * Chevrolet S-10, a pickup truck * Nissan Silvia (S10), a sports car * Toyota Crown (S10), a luxury car Aviation * Lake Chelan Airport, in Chelan County, Washington, United States * Letov Š-10, a Czech trainer a ...

swimmer. Her first international competition was the 2018 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships, Cairns, where she won the silver medal in the Women's 100m Breaststroke SB9. At the

2019 World Para Swimming Championships The 2019 World Para Swimming Championships was the tenth edition of the World Para Swimming Championships run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The championships were held from February to June in seven countries across five contine ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Stephens finished fourth in the Women's 100m Breaststroke SB9, fifth in the Women's Medley 34 Points, sixth in the Women's 200m Individual Medley SM10 and eighth in the Women's 50m Freestyle S10. At the

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

, Stephens won a bronze medal in the 34pts Women's Medley 34 pts. Her team of

Ellie Cole Ellie Victoria Cole, (born 12 December 1991) is an Australian retired Paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player. After having her leg amputated due to cancer, she trained in swimming as part of her rehabilitation program and progresse ...

Emily Beecroft Emily Jane Beecroft (born 19 November 1999) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and 2024 Summer Paralympics, 2024 Paris Paralympics. She wo ...

, and Isabella Vincent clocked 4:55.70. She also won a bronze medal in the Women's 100 m breaststroke SB9 .She also swam in two other individual events At the

2022 World Para Swimming Championships The 2022 World Para Swimming Championships was the 11th edition of the World Para Swimming Championships, an international swimming competition for athletes with a disability. It was held in Madeira from 12 to 18 June. The competition was origin ...

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, Stephens won two medals - gold in Mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay 34 pts and silver in the Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB9. At the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

Birmingham, England Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands region, in England. It is the largest local authority district in England by population and the second-largest cit ...

, she won the bronze medal in the Women's 200 m individual medley SM10. At the

2023 World Para Swimming Championships The 2023 World Para Swimming Championships was the 12th edition of the World Para Swimming Championships, an international swimming competition for swimmers with disabilities. It was held in Manchester, Great Britain from 31 July to 6 August 202 ...

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Stephens won a bronze medal in the Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB9. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she won the gold medal in the Mixed medley relay 34 pts as a heat swimmer. Stephens competed in three other events - Women's 50 m freestyle S9 (10th), Women's 100 m breaststroke SB9 (4th) and Women's 200 m individual medley SM10 (7th). Stephens is coached by Glen Baker at Southport on the Gold Coast .

Recognition

* 2025 - Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Paris Paralympic Games 2024.

References

External links

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archive
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Keira Stephens
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Keira 2003 births Living people Australian female breaststroke swimmers Australian female medley swimmers S10-classified para swimmers Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Female Paralympic swimmers for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming Swimmers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia English emigrants to Australia 21st-century Australian sportswomen