Summer Mortimer

A serious injury at a competitive trampolining event shattered most of the bones in Mortimer's feet;[3][8] she was nationally ranked in the sport.[9] When she began trying to walk again, she relearned swimming.[8]

Unaware that the Worlds were being broadcast, Mortimer was caught by surprise and stuck her tongue out at the camera. Her relaxed attitude continued at the Olympics, where she said that although there may be "some underlying arrogance", she was not consciously trying to send a message to her rivals.[10] Mortimer wears an elastic band which she snaps when aware of a negative thought; "incredibly hard on myself", it helps her realize the frequency of her "down" thinking and changes her mental perspective.[1]

As a former able-bodied competitive swimmer, she is annoyed by the idea held by some able-bodied swimmers that paralympic swimming is a "joke".[10] "The Paralympics are so much harder than the able-bodied side of sport. I know from first hand. It's way harder";[10] Mortimer said that she knew "truckloads of able-bodied athletes who constantly make fun of the Paralympics".[8] She hopes for a change in attitude, noting how much change fellow medalist Benoit Huot has seen since the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney.[8]

At the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Mortimer won four gold medals and set five world records.[3] In November of that year, she was Female Paraswimmer of the Year at Swimming Canada's Big Splash.[11]

At the April 2012 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials in Montreal, Mortimer aimed to lower her world record in the 50-metre freestyle from 28.30 seconds to about 28.27; she finished in 28.17 seconds.[12][note 1] Between the Trials and the Paralympics, she won the 100-metre backstroke in July at the Canada Cup;[13] this result surprised Mortimer, who had a "rough time" with her feet the previous month.[14] That month, she also won the women's 100-metre S10 at the Speedo Paraswimming CAN-AM in Winnipeg.[15]

The London Aquatics Centre, where Mortimer won four Paralympic medals

Mortimer qualified for six women's SM10 events at the 2012 London Paralympics—the 200-metre individual medley, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay 34pts, 4 × 100 m medley relay, 50- and 100-metre freestyle and 100-metre backstroke—and expectations for her were high.[16] On August 30, the first day of the competition, Sophie Pascoe of New Zealand won the SM10 200-metre individual medley; Mortimer took the silver medal.[17] For a half-hour before the competition, Mortimer was "bawling her eyes out";[17] she told The Canadian Press, "[Being] here and meeting all these people made me realize I am so incredibly grateful for the experience I’ve had as a result of my accident. I don’t know if this was part of the journey I was supposed to walk in life but I wouldn’t take it back for the world".[17] The next day, she won the S10 50-metre freestyle gold medal in a record time of 28.10 seconds. Mortimer's time was .07 second faster than her April Trials record, and .14 second faster than Pascoe's time; she went into the race "a bit annoyed" and "mad at anyone who was going to take it from me".[10]

In the preliminary round of the 100-metre backstroke Mortimer placed third, and hoped to be away from "the main people" in the finals to maintain her focus.[18] She won the gold medal in the final on September 4, setting a world record of 1:05.90 after overcoming Pascoe's half-second lead at the turn. Mortimer noted that her time was faster than her best able-bodied time.[18][19]

In the 100-metre freestyle (her final solo event) Mortimer finished third, 0.69 second behind[6] Pascoe and France's Elodie Lorandi; Canadian Aurelie Rivard finished fourth.[20] Mortimer's bronze was Canada's only medal on day nine of the competition.[6]

As part of the Canadian women's 34-point 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and 4 × 100 m medley relay teams, Mortimer did not medal. Although her freestyle-relay team clocked 4:38.23 (missing the 2000 Canadian record by 0.22 second), they placed seventh in the finals.[21][22] With Katarina Roxon, Morgan Bird and Brianna Nelson in the medley relay, Mortimer's team finished seventh and last. Her times of 32.35 for the 50-metre and 1:06.37 for the 100-metre were the fastest for her legs of the events.[23] At the 2012 Olympics, Mortimer's four medals were the most for any Canadian athlete or para-athlete.[24]

Following Mortimer's last individual event at London she said that although she intended to try for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships, the 2015 Parapan American Games, and the 2016 Paralympics,[16] she takes life year-by-year.[6] From October 2012 to April 2013 at least, she planned to take time off to focus on her health.[16][25]

Mortimer appeared at the Olympic Heroes Parade in Toronto.[26] For the event, Paralympic athletes were given rooms at a hotel on the outskirts of Toronto while Olympic athletes were housed downtown and received gifts; at a dinner, the Paralympians were relegated to a different dining room.[9] A Canadian Paralympic Committee spokesperson told The Spectator that the committee scrambled during the Paralympics to have their athletes included, and with their limited funding they could not afford the perks received by the Olympic athletes.[9]

The athlete is a 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games ambassador, and has given presentations at schools.[27] Mortimer receives honorariums for these appearances, and hoped to earn $3,000 in speaking fees in 2012.[9] She appeared on CBC's Play On! Street Hockey Championship in Niagara Falls,[28][29] assisted with the post-position draw at the Pattison Canadian International Championship Stakes,[30][31] and has appeared in publicity photo shoots.[32]

Competitive-swimwear manufacturer Arena sponsors Mortimer.[33] In November 2012, she went public about her and her uncle's difficulty in finding sponsorship since the 2010 Worlds.[9] Mortimer said that Paralympic athletes received no prize money, despite thousands of dollars given by the government to winning Olympians and their coaches. She told The Hamilton Spectator, "We get a pat on the back and a good job note from Stephen Harper. It's upsetting. Trust me, coming from being an able-bodied athlete to a Paralympian, it infuriates me",[9] and that she receives $3,000 a year in funding from the government.[9] Mortimer's return to the pool included the April 9, 2014 Cam Am Para Swimming competition, where she won three gold medals.[34]

In 2013, Mortimer applied to switch to the Netherlands national team; since her mother is from that country, she has dual citizenship. In June 2014, the Hamilton Spectator reported the change.[35] Although day-to-day funding in the Netherlands is similar to that in Canada, the former offers prize money; in the 2012 Paralympics, Mortimer would have won $60,000 for her gold medals alone.[35] She will train in Amersfoort.[35]

She was successful at the August 2014 IPC Swimming European Championships in Eindhoven. Breaking the women's 50-metre freestyle record in the morning's heats, Mortimer lowered it again to 28.12 in the finals.[36] In the S10 100-metre backstroke, she broke the European record in the morning's heats and again in the final. Although she won a gold medal, she told the IPC website: "I wanted a world record. I'm not satisfied, I'm not super happy. That wasn't the perfect race. But this was a gauge to see where I am at."[37]

The Big Splash (from Swimming Canada)

• 2011: Female Para-Swimmer of the Year; her father was the Para-Female Coach of the Year[38]
• 2012: TAS Para-Swimming Female Swimmer of the Year[39][40]

Ontario Sport Award (from Sport Alliance Ontario)

• 2011: Female Athlete with a Disability of the Year[3][note 2]
• 2012: Female Athlete with a Disability of the Year;[25][41] her coach, Reg Chappell, was Male Coach of the Year.[42]

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012)[43][note 3]

Mortimer, Melissa Tancredi and Cory Conacher were nominated for the 2013 Golden Horseshoe Athlete of the Year for residents of Hamilton or Burlington.[44] Tancredi won.[45] Columnist Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star listed Mortimer as a contender for the 2012 Lou Marsh Trophy (won by Christine Sinclair).[46][47]