Katja Dedekind

As one of the youngest members of the 2016 Australian Paralympic Team, Katja Dedekind punched well beyond her weight when she won a bronze medal on debut at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Born in Durban, South Africa, but raised in the Sunshine State, Katja’s love affair with Para-swimming goes as far back as she can remember. While goalball came and went – at one stage, she trained alongside the Australian women’s team – Para-swimming remained a constant.

And in 2016, those many years of commitment finally began to pay off. At the 2016 Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide, SA, Katja won a gold medal in the women’s 4x50m freestyle, bronze in the women’s 200m freestyle, and notched fifth place in the women’s 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly.

Having rightfully earned a place on the 2016 Australian Paralympic Team, Katja knew she had to make the most of her first opportunity to compete on the world stage and came out swinging. Stunning her supremely more experienced rivals, Katja won a bronze medal in the women’s 100m backstroke S13.

Five years later, the dual Paralympian returned home from Tokyo 2020 with two more bronze medals. After achieving a bronze in the women’s 100m backstroke S13, Katya showed her grit and determination in the women’s 400m freestyle S13, to record her second bronze of the Games. Her time of 4:35.87 saw her smash her personal best by two and a half seconds and set a new Australian record. She just missed the podium in the women’s 50m freestyle S13 when she touched the wall in 27.14 to finish in fourth.

Katja spends what little spare time she has reading, listening to music and watching movies.