Stefanie ‘Stef’ Reid is an amputee sprinter who competes for
Great Britain in the 100m, 200m and Long Jump and is Britain’s only
female amputee sprinter and strong medal prospect for London 2012
Paralympic Games.
Stef was born in New Zealand and raised in Canada as her parents
worked in the hotel industry. Her mother heralds from Darlington
and her father from Glasgow and she currently splits her time
between her home in the USA and her training in London, a truly
multi-cultural upbringing that has helped shape her fantastic
personality.
Stef took the decision to compete for Great Britain soon after
the Paralympics Games in 2008. It wasn’t an easy choice but one
that has been vindicated already with some impressive results. She
spent a year out of competition in 2009 in order to complete her
switch and has fully embraced British life, training at Lee Valley
athletics centre in North London. In 2010 she broke three World
records in the space of two months and in January 2011 Stef
competed at the IPC Athletics World Championships in New Zealand.
She won a bronze medal in the long jump final and achieved two
personal best results in the 100m and 200m.
Away from the track Stef is an academic scholar and has a degree
in Biochemistry. She is currently completing a Masters in
Nutrition, an area she hopes to work in once she’s
finishedcompeting. Stef was also the face of Channel 4’s new
Paralympic coverage and gained notoriety for completing a stunt
jump over a car in the opening credits. She is an accomplished
speaker and has undertaken visits to local schools in her short
time in London so far.
Goal for 2012
Stef is one to watch for the 2012 Paralympics, she has the
ability to win three medals in front of a home crowd and her
striking running leg, impressive personality and subtle charm makes
her a favourite with both fans and the media.