Stephenville girl wins silver at Games

A 12-year-old swimmer from Stephenville has won Newfoundland's first and only medal in the first week of the 2005 Canada Summer Games.

Katarina Roxon of Stephenville Middle School came in second in the final of the women's 100-metre breaststroke SWAD (swimmer with a disability), at the games in Regina.

"I hit the wall really hard. I took off my googles and looked up at the time. And then I just raised my hand, saying, 'yeah!'"

Katarina said she wasn't expecting a medal, being one of the youngest competitors in her field.

"I thought everybody was going to be so much faster than me. I surprised myself," she said.

Katarina, whose left arm was removed at the elbow at birth because of a defect, raced against able-bodied swimmers. Her second-place finish was based on a selection criteria that takes into account the severity of a swimmer's disability.