Yukon swimmer named to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

Whitehorse swimmer, coach and ambassador for the Paralympic movement Stephanie Dixon was one of seven people named on Tuesday to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

• Canada's Sports Hall of Fame inductees include Pinball, Trottier, Colleen Jones

When Dixon retired from competitive swimming in 2010, she was a multiple world record holder and the winner of 19 Paralympic medals over three Games.She was only 16 at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, where she won five gold and two silver medals.

When Dixonfirst heard news about her own Hall of Fame induction, she thought about when her parents put her in swimming lessons at age two, Dixon said.

"They got me involved in sports to make sure that I knew that despite having a disability, I could do anything that I wanted to do.

And when I got in the water, you know, I just took to it right away, became a little mermaid, swam like a little fish," she said.

Dixon continues to be a prominent promoter for parasport and an advocate for disability rights with the Yukon Human Rights Commission.

She's also just signed a contract to co-hostCBC's coverage of the Rio De Janeiro 2016 Paralympics in September, she said.

"Getting involved in sports, especially swimming, where, you know, it's just me and my bodyno crutches, no prosthetic leg,just me and what I'm able to do in the waterreally allowed me to feel empowered by my body and not only in sport.[It] gave me confidence just for the rest of my life to be proud of who I am, what I look like, and what I'm able to do,"Dixon said.

Six other people were named to the Hall of Fame Tuesday, alongside Dixon. They include CFL player Michael "Pinball"Clemonsand Dr. FrankHayden, the creator of the worldwide Special Olympics Movement.

They'll be formally inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 1 in Toronto.