Taylor
Doyle

Taylor Doyle set her heart on competing at a Paralympic Games when both her parents carried the torch at Sydney 2000 after nominating one another to be a part of the formalities.

Born with an intellectual impairment, Taylor made her international debut at the Special Olympic Games in Athens in 2011, where she won gold in the 4x100m relay and bronze in long jump. She says that winning gold in Athens fuelled her training in the lead-up to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Taylor competed in the long jump final at the 2013 IPC World Championships in Lyon, France, ultimately placing ninth. Although she admits she was hoping to achieve a better result, she relished the opportunity to compete against other world-class athletes.

When Taylor was 21, she underwent surgery intended to stop her epileptic seizures. Although the operation was successful, she acquired a brain injury affecting her mobility and was reclassified as a T38 athlete.

Under coach, Gregory Smith, Taylor competed in long jump and the 100m at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar. She reached the finals in both events, placing fifth and seventh, respectively.

The Oakville local exceeded expectations at the Rio 2016 Games, winning silver in long jump with a distance of 4.62m. Now that she has achieved her ultimate goal of competing at the Games, Taylor is working towards becoming the best athlete she can be, and wants to inspire people with similar disabilities to get involved in sport.

Outside of athletics, Taylor enjoys singing and tenpin bowling.