Joy is Gold’s Special Olympics Swimming Star

Only 12 years old when she first joined Special Olympics, Tatem is still swimming with the North York Eels around two decades later, as a decorated competitor. She has been to multiple Special Olympics Ontario Provincial Spring Games, as well as a previous Special Olympics Canada National Summer Games.

“[Competing at Nationals] was challenging at first,” Tatem said, “but now I’m being more confident and more me.”

Laura added that going to Nationals was Tatem’s first time travelling alone, and she was still a teenager at the time. Now 34 years old, Tatem said she is still developing her ability to remain confident and positive. She trains swimming three days a week--Laura added that Tatem often gets nervous before a race but feels fine as soon as she gets into the pool.

While her main achievements are in swimming, Tatem also plays golf, curling, and bocce with Special Olympics.  

“I wanted to stay with Special Olympics” Tatem said, “because it’s [easier] to make new friends and just be yourself, be more confident with your own body and your health. Stuff like that.”

Laura said a lot of the families they met through Special Olympics have been “very encouraging” and cheer Tatem on during her swim meets. Having trained with famous Canadian swimmer Vicki Keith—best known for the multiple records she broke swimming across all five of the Great Lakes—Tatem is confident in her underwater strokes, which were filmed as part of the Joy is Gold shoot.  

Alongside the other athletes at the shoot, Tatem repeatedly dove into the water, swam a length, and then came back to the starting blocks ready to do it all over again. However, she was followed by an extra camera set up along the edge of the pool, filming Tatem from both under and above the water as she elegantly swam out of her initial dive.

 After watching the footage of herself, Tatem said she was “over the moon!”