“I had no concept of what any of that would mean, but I just held onto those goals,” says Steele, who can now boast a remarkable 13-year swimming career, with the titles of Paralympian and gold medalist under her belt. 

“We forget that we have this power within us to decide what it is that we want to have in our lives,” says Steele.

Connecting to this power from a young age, Steele won her first gold medal in competitive swimming at just 14. Then, at age 17, she represented Australia for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics in the 400-metre freestyle, breaking a national record. 

Steele was born with a congenital disability called Arthrogryposis, which affects the range of motion in the joints and impacts the cartilage in the body. She also developed Amniotic band syndrome (ABS) in the womb, affecting the shape of both her hands. 

“Sport has been everything,” says Steele. “It has shaped me. It has shaped how I react to things, and how I have managed my disability.”

“We create our own reality,” she says. 

“Things are always going to happen in your life, but it’s how you react to those things. And so when I was a kid – and when I was early in my swimming career – I would react in a way that was like a victim because the world was telling me I was a victim. But then I realised I could change that narrative and go ‘well, you might see me like that, but I don’t see myself like that’.”

Throughout her swimming career, Steele has represented Australia internationally five times, including at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. She’s also been captain of a number of Aussie swimming teams and held a Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship for eight years. 

After swimming, Steele took up wheelchair rugby. She was the only woman to be selected to play for Victoria at a national level. 

Today, Steele is an award-winning sportswoman, experienced personal coach and motivational speaker, who works in the personal development space as The Self Belief Agent. 

She’s also the Project Manager for the ‘Building Inclusive Sport Clubs’ program to promote the access and inclusion of people with disabilities in sporting clubs across Australia, working with Disability Sport Australia.

Recently, Steele was selected by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation to become a Change Our Game ambassador. Steele is joined by seven other inspiring women in this movement to raise awareness on key issues in women’s sport. 

Steele is using this advocacy platform to create equitable change for all people with disabilities in sport. 

Emphasising the importance of her role with the Change Our Game movement, Steele says she’s proud that she and the other ambassadors have a direct opportunity to help other people feel the positive, life-changing aspects of sport that they’ve experienced. 

She says they’re able to do this “by breaking down inclusion and access issues and being able to share our expertise and make it easier for people to access the sports that they want to play.”

Looking back at her own sporting career, Steele can see clearly the changes she wished had been in place when she was competing at such a high level. These are the changes she’s working to implement for the next generation. 

And while there are some days where this change might feel impossible, Steele remains optimistic about the future.

“There are going to be days when you feel like you’re hitting your head against a brick wall,” she says. “And on those days, you just need to go for a walk or a swim in the ocean.”

“We’re not going to change the world in 24 hours because there’s so many different ways that people view women and sport and disability.” 

“We’ve all got our own perceptions or ideals of how people are meant to behave, but sometimes we need to put them aside for a bit so we can learn from other people,” she adds. 

“It’s okay if you just go, and take a deep breath, and start again.”

Change Our Game Ambassadors are using their platforms to help drive change and raise awareness on key issues and barriers for women in sport. Change Our Game is led by the Office of Women in Sport and Recreation to level the playing field for women and girls. Be sure to follow the Ambassadors’ journeys through @ChangeOurGame on socials.

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The 24-year-old, who will compete at the Paralympics in Tokyo, said she has been wearing the same style of sprint briefs for years, and they are specifically designed for competing.

“Tonight I felt quite disappointed because just as I finished my long jump competition at the English Championships, one of the female officials felt it necessary to inform me that my sprint briefs were too short and inappropriate,” she wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.

“I was left speechless. I have been wearing the same style sprint briefs for many years and they are specifically designed for competing in. I will hopefully be wearing them in Tokyo.”

In her statement, Breen, who has cerebral palsy, pondered whether a male athlete would be subjected to the same criticism while competing.

“It made me questions whether a male competitor would be similarly criticised. I hope no other female athletes had similar issues,” she wrote.

“I recognise there needs to be regulations and guidelines in relation to competition kit but women should not be made to feel self-conscious about what they are wearing when competing but should feel comfortable and at ease.”

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Breen told The Guardian she was wearing official Adidas briefs for 2021, and said the design of them helps her to feel as “light as possible” which is critical for her in competition.

Breen, who won a world championship gold medal in the T35-38 4x100m in 2015 and in 2017 in the T38 long jump, said comments like these could “ruin confidence and self esteem” of young female athletes.

“For me it just made me angry. If I was 16 or something it would make me burst into tears,” Breen told CNN.

“They need to treat us with respect and not make us feel like rubbish.”

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Like many athletes in Australia and around the world, de Rozario’s dreams of Tokyo 2020 were taken from her in an instant. It was a shock at first, de Rozario admits, and it took a toll on her mental health.

It was the unknown that created the most anxiety for de Rozario, who says she felt relieved when the Paralympics were rescheduled with a new starting date of August 2021. But with more than a year to go until that becomes reality, de Rozario is focusing on the smaller details to help get her through.

“My performance team has been a little concerned about the monotony that comes with training from home, with no events or goals to train towards,” she told Women’s Agenda. “We’ve been trying to focus on smaller details so we’re still working towards something and seeing results.

“It’s just been a matter of shifting focus and priorities over the last few months, creating our own structure rather than relying on the one the race calendar usually provides.”

Recent research from Allianz revealed that just over two-thirds of Australians believe Olympians and Paralympians should speak up about mental health. It’s something de Rozario wants to be more conscious about as we all move through the uncertain waters of a global pandemic.

“I’m being more conscious about speaking out when I’m feeling down and talking to those around me about what I need in day-to-day life and while competing,” she says.

de Rozario, who made her Paralympic debut more than a decade ago as the youngest athlete on the 2008 Australian Paralympic team, is attuned to facing challenges head-on.  She says she takes this same head-on approach when it comes to her own mental health. Being vulnerable and embracing the idea of mental, not just physical, strength is also really important.

“It’s definitely something that I learned through sport, but it’s also something I try very hard to apply to the rest of my life,” she says. “It can be really confronting, but I think it’s something that every single one of us needs to be doing and supporting others to do.”

de Rozario is one Australia’s best athletes. She is the reigning women’s 800m T53 world champion and has no less than 10 World Championships medals under her belt. She’s won three silver Paralympic medals and in 2018, she became the first Australian to win the elite women’s wheelchair race at the London Marathon.

Competing on the world stage has always been an intense experience for de Rozario, one that makes her feel fulfilled but also fearful.

“It’s drives me more than anything but also a feeling that terrifies me to think about,” de Rozario says.

“It’s an absolute privilege to put on the green and gold and to have an entire nation backing you, but it’s also a lot of pressure. A lot of self-inflicted pressure, admittedly, but you definitely feel like you’re out there on the track and the road representing more than just yourself. There is definitely a lot of fear that accompanies that.”

Self awareness is key for de Rozario, who finds her own self-criticism can easily go unchecked if she lets it.

“Myself and so many others spent so much time being critical. What if it’s not enough? What if everything that I have in me for this race, what if it just isn’t enough?

“Once you have this awareness around who you are and what you need and what you struggle with, you’re really able to demand the things that you need to make that a space where you’re able to thrive.”

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Patterson has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and symptoms of early onset Parkinson’s disease, but none of it is stopping her from becoming one of Australia’s best Paralympians.

She started swimming at Bribie Island at the age of 4, initially to help relieve muscle soreness brought on by paralysis in her hand and foot.

She won six medals at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, including two gold. At the recent Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Patterson stepped up to the S9 classification 100m freestyle, taking almost a second off her best time to beat fellow Australian Ellie Cole to claim the title.

Currently training for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championship Trials in Adelaide in July, Patterson is the latest to answer our Q&A series The Link, connecting you to the work and ideas of different women.

What are you working on right now that’s got you really excited?

We are currently training for Pan Pacific Championships. Trials are in Adelaide in a week and the Pan Pacific Championships are in Cairns in August. I’m really excited for the Pan Pacs as it is an International event and it is always great to see where you sit amongst the rest of the World. 

What one issue is making you really angry right now?

That we as women even need to protest to our Government to have GST removed from Sanitary products. And the fact that they are being labelled a ‘luxury’ item!. Like, Hello. Hardly! 

Best piece of career advice you ever received?

Stand up for equal rights. Live with a NO excuse attitude. Don’t make sacrifices, make better choices.

What would you go back and tell yourself ten years ago? 

I would have told myself to follow my dream of becoming an elite athlete earlier. I didn’t believe in myself enough to start.

Biggest hurdle you’ve faced (or are still facing) in your career?

Proving the doubters wrong. I listened for too long to the word ‘can’t’ until I turned it into the word CAN. I turned it into a challenge accepted and now I set incredibly high goals that most would say are unrealistic – but I say I can achieve them. 

How have mentors or sponsors (or both) aided your career?

My coach has been a mentor in and out of the pool. He invested in me when no one else would. He listens and always managers to turn things around for me. He also allows me to figure out solutions for myself so I have the chance to learn a few lessons along the way. 

What’s your favourite piece of tech?

That’s a tough one! I use many pieces of tech in my day to day life as I am physically unable to write. I guess my iPhone X would be my favourite as it stores and transfers all my data from my Apple Watch and to my laptop. My life is consumed by technology outside of swimming. 

What apps or tools do you use to help manage your day?

The apps and tools that I use to manage my day are pretty easy. With my calendar I am able to send alerts to my watch for appointments and addresses for functions and events. We as a family also use OurPact. All of our diaries sync into one calendar. We all pop in what ever we need for shopping, when mum is at the shops she is able to just open the app when she is shopping and know where everyone is! It helps with the very busy household we live in!

What are you reading/watching/listening to right now?

I have been reading a university text about ancient architecture. The book is about extraordinary architecture from an earlier time created by incredible craftsmen and women. I’m currently studying a Bachelor of Architecture. 

Who would you like to next read about on Women’s Agenda? 

There are so many incredible women out there, some who have inspired me are:

• Mrs Gina Rinehart – a business woman extraordinaire who is not afraid to go after what she is passionate about.
• Jessica Long – A Paralympian from the US who holds many world record and medals. She overcame so much adversity and turned swimming into a career.
• Jessica Watson – Sailing around the world by herself in a yacht to prove that women can do anything with a dream.
• Turia Pitt – A humanitarian and athlete who overcame burns to 65% of her body, exhibiting indomitable strength.

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