Susannah Elizabeth Joy Rodgers, (born 9 August 1983) is a British

Paralympic swimmer Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Para ...

. She competes in S7 classification events and won three bronze medals at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

and a gold at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

Personal life

Rodgers was born on 9 August 1983 in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

, England. She was born without a fully formed arm or leg on the left side of her body. Susie was announced as a

Young Global Leader Forum of Young Global Leaders, or Young Global Leaders (YGL), was created by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum. The YGL, a non-profit organization managed from Geneva, Switzerland, is under the supervision of the Swiss government ...

by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

in 2018, a year after her retirement from professional sport in 2017. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in modern languages from the University of Newcastle, and is able to speak

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

, French, German, Italian and Spanish. She combined her swimming career with a job as a Project Manager for the British Council. She is a qualified Non Executive Director through

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikk ...

NED programme, amongst other roles.

Swimming

Rodgers first learned to swim when living in Egypt as a child but did not take up competitive swimming until she was inspired by watching the British team at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

. She competes in the S7 Paralympic classification for swimmers with a physical impairment. Her first appearance at an international event came at the 2011 IPC European Championships held in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany. At the meet Rodgers won six medals, five gold and one silver. She won individual gold in the 400 metres freestyle, in a new European record time, and relay gold in the 34pt 4×100 m freestyle alongside Louise Watkin,

Lauren Steadman Lauren Steadman (born 18 December 1992) is a British Paralympic athlete who has competed in four Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes w ...

and

Claire Cashmore Claire Cashmore, (born 21 May 1988) is a Paralympic Swimming Champion and PTS5 classified British paratriathlete. She has been to four Paralympic Games with swimming and has won 4 bronze, 3 silver, and 1 gold medal. Cashmore also broke the wo ...

. Her second individual gold medal came in the 100 metres backstroke as she set a time of 1:26.09, a new British record, to beat German world record holder Kirsten Bruhn into second place. She won her fourth gold medal by setting a new European record time of 36.74 seconds in the 50 metres butterfly, and followed it with her fifth in the 100 metres freestyle. She also won a silver medal in the 50 metres freestyle. She was selected to compete for

Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

in London, United Kingdom, as part of a 44-swimmer squad. At the Games she competed in the 50, 100 and 400 freestyle, the 50 meters butterfly, the 100 metres backstroke and the 4×100 m freestyle relay. Rodgers won bronze medals in the

100 metres freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics. The first swimmer to break the one-minute barrier (long course) was Johnny Weissmuller, in 1 ...

and the relay, alongside Cashmore, Watkin and

Stephanie Millward Stephanie Millward, (born 20 September 1981) is a British Paralympic swimmer. Personal life Millward was born on 20 September 1981 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At the age of 17 she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). As a result, she comp ...

. She completed a hat trick of bronze medals by finishing third in the 400 metres freestyle, setting new European records in both the heats and the final, to win Great Britain's one hundredth medal of the Games. She also achieved finishes of fourth in the butterfly and sixth in the backstroke. In 2013 Rodgers was selected to represent Great Britain again, this time at the

IPC Swimming World Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known before 30 November 2016 as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic C ...

in Montreal. In her three individual freestyle events; the 50 m S7, 100 m S7 and the 400 m S7 she was beaten into silver on each occasion by American

Cortney Jordan Cortney Jordan (born June 24, 1991 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is an American swimmer. Swimming career Jordan broke onto the international swimming scene when she won bronze in the 50, 100, and 400 metre freestyles at 2006 World Championships. Two ye ...

. In her only butterfly event, the 50 m S7, she again took second place, this time losing the top podium place to Canada's

Brianna Nelson Brianna Nelson (born 9 May 1992) is a S7 classified Canadian para-swimmer who has competed in the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics. She was introduced to swimming by her cycling coach and had won two silver medals and one gold in the Paralympics and t ...

. Rodgers left Canada with one more medal, taking the gold in the 4x100 m freestyle relay (34 points) alongside

and

Amy Marren Amy Marren (born 14 August 1998) is a British para swimmer who became the SM9 200m individual medley world champion at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships. At the same championships, she won gold in the S9 100m butterfly, as well as bein ...

. The second and third places in the 100m relay went to Canada and the US, those teams contained both Nelson and Jordan. At the

2016 Rio Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

, Rodgers won gold in the women's 50m butterfly S7, and a bronze in both the women's 400m freestyle S7 and women's 50m freestyle S7 She was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to swimming.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Susie 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Stockton-on-Tees English female freestyle swimmers Paralympic swimmers of Great Britain Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics S7-classified Paralympic swimmers Members of the Order of the British Empire Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the World Para Swimming European Championships Paralympic medalists in swimming British female butterfly swimmers 20th-century English women 21st-century English women