REID Stef

Classification
T64, F64 (IPC, 22 Feb 2021)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (independent.co.uk, 24 Jan 2013)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (independent.co.uk, 24 Jan 2013)

Impairment Details
At age 16 she was accidentally hit by a motorboat and became caught up in its propellers. As a result of her injuries, the lower part of her right leg was amputated. During her recovery, she found inspiration from a nurse who reprimanded her for refusing to eat her breakfast. "To my surprise, she slammed it down on my bed and told me off. She said there was a little girl in another ward who just lost both her legs and she could still smile, so what was my problem? She said my family were a mess and needed to see me smile, even if I didn't feel like it. She was the first one who really challenged me, and that day I made a choice that I was still going to enjoy my life." (independent.co.uk, 24 Jan 2013; paralympians.com, 14 Dec 2010; uka.org.uk, 17 Aug 2010)

General
ACTING
In 2017 she made her acting debut in a short film called 'The Energy Within', which is about an athlete who struggles to come to terms with losing a limb. The film was directed by Samuel De Ceccatty. "He did an internet search and my name came up. He thought I was perfect, he didn't know if I could act. I was so excited by the idea. But it meant he had his work cut out. Not only did he have to write and direct, he had to give me acting lessons. It's not my biography, but emotionally it was my story. Yes, I'm bubbly now, but there were a lot of dark places on the way here. I remember after the first block of filming going home and feeling depressed. It brought back a lot of horrible memories." (telegraph.co.uk, 14 Apr 2018; athleticsweekly.com, 29 Dec 2017)

FROM NEW ZEALAND TO CANADA TO GREAT BRITAIN
She was born in New Zealand to a Scottish father and an English mother. At age four she moved with her family to Toronto, ON, Canada. With the option of competing for New Zealand, Great Britain, or Canada, she chose to represent Canada at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. In 2010 she switched to compete for Great Britain. "It was a tough decision. It came down to the quality of the programme that Britain delivers and the funding put into it. Britain has one of the best programmes available." (uka.org.uk, 17 Aug 2010; bbc.co.uk, 19 Jan 2010)

INJURY SCARE
After suffering a herniated disc in 2015 she was told her sporting career may have been over, and as a result she considered alternative occupations. "I had all the facts then. I saw all the experts; they were super honest. Nobody ever gave me, 'You're definitely going to do this; this will definitely happen'. They just said, 'Look, honestly, we don't know'. I actually ended up auditioning to be a weather girl for the BBC. I did all sorts of things. I walked the London Fashion Week catwalk. It honestly ended up being one of the best summers of my life in a weird way." (telegraph.co.uk, 24 Jan 2021)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In 2019 she was appointed vice president of UK Athletics. (athleticsweekly.com, 20 Nov 2019)