Kathryn Ross was two years old when an accident involving a ride-on lawnmower resulted in the fusing of her right knee and ankle joints. Doing little to quell her passion for sport, she took up rowing for the first time in 2006.
Two years later, she made her Paralympic debut at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, claiming a silver medal in the TA mixed double sculls event. Rowing with John Maclean, the pair finished with a time of 4:21.58 behind China’s Yangjing Zhou and Zilong Shan by less than one second, who finished in 4:20.69.
In the four years between Beijing and London, Kathryn rowed with a number of partners before finding the right fit with Gavin. Following John Maclean’s retirement in 2008, Kathryn teamed up with Grant Bailey to win bronze at the 2010 FISA World Rowing Championships in Cambridge, New Zealand.
Striving for gold at the London 2012 Games, Kathryn and mixed double sculls partner Gavin Bellis were devastated to finish third in their heat, second in their repechage heat and fifth in the final, racing nearly nine seconds slower than first-placed Chinese pair Tianming Fei and Xiaoxian Lou.
Nonetheless, Gavin and Kathryn made an impressive return to the world stage when they won gold at the 2013, 2014 and 2015 FISA World Rowing Championships.
With a podium finish in sight for Rio 2016, and a gold medal not unlikely, they were disappointed to place fourth in their heat, third in their repechage heat and seventh overall in the final.
Competing at her fourth Paralympic Games at Tokyo 2020, Kathryn paired with Simon Albury in the PR2 Mixed Double Sculls to finish in seventh place.
Outside of training and competition, Kathryn enjoys playing the tenor drum and piano, painting, quilting, sewing, going to the movies and spending time with her friends.
An advocate for people with disabilities participating in sport, Kathryn hopes to become involved in talent identification in Para-sport. Her long-term goal is to set up a strength and conditioning centre for people undergoing rehabilitation and children with cerebral palsy.
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