Roxon rocks on: Kippens Paralympic champion will compete for spot in Tokyo 2020
After winning gold in Rio, swimmer says world record is new goal
Katarina Roxon is not done yet. The 23-year-old swimmer has declared her intentions for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
The pride of Kippens, just 10 weeks removed from winning her first Paralympic gold medal, made the decision to continue competing after a discussion with her family.
"It's a huge commitment. I definitely needed my family's support for this," she said. "We decided another four years sounds pretty good."
Since returning home from the Rio Games, Roxon has finished her Level 1 coaching certificate and is leading the pre-competition team in Stephenville.
She hopes to work on obtaining a masters of business administration in the next four years, while working towards repeating as the women's champion in the 100-metre breaststroke.
"I've grown as an athlete and a person so I know what I'm getting myself into," she told members of the College of the North Atlantic's film and video program, who are working on a documentary about the swimming star.
"I have a little bit more in me that I want to give. I'm not done completely with sport."
Not ready to slow down
Roxon will be 27 when the Tokyo Games start, but isn't worried about losing any speed from her stride just yet.
"I want to break my own records," she said, noting she often thinks about her personal bests. "It's the fastest I've ever been and I know that [since] I've been that fast, I can go faster."
Roxon will ramp up her training regimen in the next few weeks, pushing herself into full gear and beginning the push for a repeat performance in 2020.
I know what kind of pressures I'm going to be put under and I know how hard I need to push myself.- Katarina Roxon
Her goal is to set the world record in her classification, a 1:17:17 swim set by Olesya Vladykina of Russia at the 2012 London Olympics.
Roxon's gold medal swim in Rio smashed her own person best, but missed the world record by slightly more than two seconds.
"I know what I'm getting myself into," she said. "I know what kind of pressures I'm going to be put under and I know how hard I need to push myself."
