Stefanie Reid


Stefanie McLeod "Stef" Reid is a track and field Paralympian who competes for Great Britain, competing mainly in category T44 long jump and sprint events. A multiple medal winner at European and World level, her most notable success are during the Paralympic games at Beijing and London where she won a bronze in the sprint and silver in the long jump.
Stefanie was also a semi-finalist on Celebrity MasterChef 2018.

Personal history

Reid was born in New Zealand to British parents. The family moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada when she was aged 4. Reid lost her right foot in a boating accident, aged 16. Her life was saved by a surgeon in Toronto who stemmed the blood flow through amputation.
Reid is married to Canadian wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos, and they now live in England where they both train at Loughborough University.

Athletics career

Sports-loving before the accident, she played rugby union, but encountered difficulties after her amputation with referees who felt the artificial leg could injure other players. Deciding to concentrate on her studies, she gained a full scholarship to Queen's University to study biochemistry. After joining the campus track and field team, three years later she competed at the World Championships.
Competing for Canada in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China, she won a bronze medal in the women's 200 metres - T44 event, went out in the first round of the women's 100 metres - T44 event and finished fifth in the women's Long jump - F44 event. She switched allegiance to Great Britain at the start of 2010.
In 2010, BBC presenter and producer Matthew Stadlen spent a day with Reid for the news programme .
In April 2013, it was announced that Reid would feature in the latest campaign for British high-street store Debenhams, the first high street chain to use disabled models in its campaigns. Reid's photo was featured in British Vogue magazine in April 2013. The imagery celebrates diversity in the retail sector.
Reid attempted to qualify to represent Scotland in the main long jump competition at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She did not meet the qualifying standard of 6.2 metres, although she set a world record for the T44 class at the Sainsbury's Glasgow Grand Prix whilst attempting to qualify.
Despite not qualifying for the Commonwealth Games, Reid won gold at the IPC European Championships, beating the former world record holder, Marie-Amélie Le Fur by 4cm.
She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to Paralympic sport.