Stefanie McLeod Reid MBE (born 26 October 1984)[2] is a track and field paralympian who competes for Canada and Great Britain, competing mainly in category T44 long jump and sprint events. A multiple medal winner at European and world level, she won a bronze medal in the 200m at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and silver in the long jump at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Stefanie McLeod Reid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 October 1984 (age 39) New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | StefReid.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | T44 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal history
Reid was born in New Zealand to British parents; her father is Scottish and her mother is English.[3] The family moved to Toronto, Canada when she was aged 4.[4] Reid lost her right foot in a boating accident, aged 16.[3] Her life was saved by a surgeon in Toronto who amputated her right leg below the knee.
Reid is married to Canadian wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos, and they now live in England where they both train at Loughborough University.[5] Reid is a Christian.[6]
In 2024, Reid campaigned for Nike to allow customers to buy single shoes, rather than pairs, if they were disabled, stating that the company used amputee mannequins in its stores without offering an option to only purchase individual trainers. In response, Nike said it was "exploring opportunities."[7][8][9]
Athletics career
Sports-loving before the accident, she played rugby union, but encountered difficulties after her amputation with referees who felt the artificial leg could injure other players. Deciding to concentrate on her studies, she gained a full scholarship to Queen's University to study biochemistry. After joining the campus track and field team, three years later she competed at the World Championships.[4]
Competing for Canada in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China, she won a bronze medal in the women's 200 metres - T44 event, went out in the first round of the women's 100 metres - T44 event and finished fifth in the women's Long jump - F44 event.[4] She switched allegiance to Great Britain at the start of 2010.[10]
In April 2013, it was announced that Reid would feature in the latest campaign for British high-street store Debenhams,[11] the first high street chain to use disabled models in its campaigns.[citation needed] Reid's photo was featured in British Vogue magazine in April 2013. The imagery celebrates diversity in the retail sector.[12]
Reid attempted to qualify to represent Scotland in the main long jump competition at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She did not meet the qualifying standard of 6.2 metres, although she set a world record for the T44 class at the Sainsbury's Glasgow Grand Prix (5.47m) whilst attempting to qualify.[13]
She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to Paralympic sport.[14][15]
Television career
Since retiring as a full time athlete in June 2022, Reid began to carve out a career as a reporter, guest and presenter across a range of media outlets.
Reid was a semi-finalist on Celebrity MasterChef in 2018[16] and was a quarter-finalist on the fourteenth series of Dancing on Ice.[17]
In 2020, Reid was a commentator for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.[18]
In 2023, Reid was part of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's sports coverage team of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in Chile.[19]
References
External links
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