TUOMELA Jessica

Date of Birth: 3 Aug 1983

Age: 38

Gender: Female

Sport Class: PTVI1

Place of birth: SAULT SAINTE MARIE, ON

Birth Country:

Canada

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Triathlon	Women's PTVI	5

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Odaiba Marine Park	Women's PTVI	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
World Championships
3	PTVI	2019	Lausanne, SUI	1:17:13
4	PTVI	2018	Gold Coast, QLD, AUS	1:10:06
6	PTVI	2017	Rotterdam, NED	1:20:41

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
2	50m Freestyle - S11	2000	Sydney, NSW, AUS	33.75
4	50m Freestyle - S11	2004	Athens, GRE	33.68
6	100m Freestyle - S11	2004	Athens, GRE	1:15.43
6	100m Backstroke - S11	2004	Athens, GRE	1:28.55
6	100m Freestyle - S11	2000	Sydney, NSW, AUS	1:18.62
6	100m Backstroke - S11	2000	Sydney, NSW, AUS	1:29.86
6	Women's 200m Medley SM11	2000	Sydney, NSW, AUS	3:12.77
8	100m Freestyle - S11	2008	Beijing, CHN	1:14.79
9	50m Freestyle - S11	2008	Beijing, CHN	34.06
DSQ	100m Breaststroke - SB11	2004	Athens, GRE	DSQ

Baking, cooking, spending time with her dogs. (paralympic.ca, 01 Jun 2021; cbc.ca, 29 Apr 2020)

Occupation:

Religious Studies, Sociology - Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, CAN

Languages spoken:

Carolyn Murray [national], CAN

Other sports:

She represented Canada in Para swimming at three Paralympic Games between 2000 and 2008, winning silver in S11 50m freestyle at the 2000 Games in Sydney. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 23 Aug 2021; LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 23 Aug 2021)

She took up Para triathlon in 2016, and began competing in the sport in March 2017. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 23 Aug 2021)

Originally a Para swimmer, she returned to competition after an eight-year break to compete in Para triathlon as she felt she had unfinished business in sport. "Instead of training for one sport, I thought, 'Why not training for three?' That's how I got into triathlon. I went from a sport where I won medals for myself. Now I entered a sport where I am tied to another human being [a guide] the entire race. That totally changes the dynamic of the race. It's about teamwork now." (timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 23 Aug 2021)

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 23 Aug 2021)

In 2010 she was the community cauldron lighter for Sault Sainte Marie during the torch relay of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. (vancouver2010.com, 02 Jan 2010)

In 2006 she was inducted into the Sault Sainte Marie Walk of Fame in Canada. (saultsportscouncil.ca, 31 Mar 2010)

In 2000 she was awarded the Sault Sainte Marie Medal of Merit. (city.saulte-ste-marie.on.ca, 31 Mar 2010)

General Interest

Classification
PTVI (World Triathlon, 23 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 23 Aug 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 23 Aug 2021)

Impairment Details
She lost her vision due to retinoblastoma [retinal cancer] at age three. (saultsportscouncil.ca, 31 Mar 2010; sootoday.com, 20 Sep 2004)

Guide
Marianne Hogan (saanichnews.com, 19 Aug 2021)

General
BREAK AND PARA TRIATHLON
After competing in Para swimming at three Paralympic Games, she retired from the sport following the 2008 Games in Beijing. She returned to education and ran a massage therapy clinic in Scotland for two years during her time away from Para sport. She took up Para triathlon in 2016. "I finished a couple of degrees, finished my masters in social work and ran a massage therapy clinic during my eight-year break. But I just couldn't put out the fire to train and compete. When I retired from swimming in 2008, I wasn't really satisfied with my season and results at the Paralympics. I walked away with a bad taste in my mouth and knew that wasn't the way to leave the sport. In swimming, I got to the point where I didn't enjoy what I was doing any more and that was a big detriment. Now, I really try to just have fun and hopefully, success follows." (timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 23 Aug 2021; paralympic.ca, 01 Jun 2021)

ATHLETE COUNCIL
She has served as an interim council member of the Canadian Paralympic Committee [CPC] Athletes Council. (athletics.ca, 01 Dec 2007)

FURTHER EDUCATION
She studied for a diploma in message therapy and sport massage at the Canadian College of Massage and Hydrotherapy/West Coast College of Massage Therapy [CCMH - WCCMT] in Canada between 2009 and 2010. She then studied for a diploma in performance psychology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland between 2012 and 2013. In 2015 she graduated with a master's degree in social work from University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA, United States of America. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2020)

Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/jessica.tuomela
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tuomelajessica
https://instagram.com/jessica.tuomela/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-tuomela-521469175/

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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