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Kathleen DAWSON
Sport Swimming
NOC Great Britain   
GenderWomen
Born03 Oct 1997 in Kirkcaldy, SCO
Height1.73 m
 Human Interest 
Further Personal Information
Residence
Stirling, SCO
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team
University of Stirling: Scotland
Further Personal Information
Higher education
Sport Studies - University of Stirling: Scotland
General Interest
Hobbies
Drawing portraits, playing video games, painting. (britishswimming.org, 29 Jul 2020)
Injuries
She ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] in her knee in 2018 and required surgery. She did not swim for three months. (fifetoday.co.uk, 03 May 2021; stateofswimming.com, 17 Apr 2021; bbc.co.uk, 15 Apr 2021)
Memorable sporting achievement
Winning a gold medal in the 4x100m mixed medley relay at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (bbc.co.uk, 31 Jul 2021)
Most influential person in career
Her family, and coach Darren Ashley. (backarisingstar.com, 14 Jul 2013)
Hero / Idol
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, British sprinter Derek Redmond. (backarisingstar.com, 14 Jul 2013)
Awards and honours
In December 2021 the swimming pool in Warrington, England, where she trained for much of her childhood was renamed 'The Kathleen Dawson Swimming Pool'. (warrington-worldwide.co.uk, 06 Dec 2021)
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach
Steven Tigg [club]; Bradley Hay [club]
Training Regime
She has nine training sessions a week, for a total of between 18 and 20 hours.
When and where did you begin this sport?
She was taken to the swimming pool as a toddler in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. She started taking swimming lessons at age four in Great Sankey, England.
Further Personal Information
Occupation
Athlete, Student
Languages
English
General Interest
Nicknames
Kat (Instagram profile, 30 Apr 2021)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"I was aware of my success, but I never stopped trying to get better." [Michael Jordan] (backarisingstar.com, 14 Jul 2013)
Other information
COVID-19 IMPACT
She believes that missing time due to the anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] injury she suffered in 2018 gave her an advantage over other swimmers in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. "In terms of covid - everyone's been in the same boat with that. But before that, I just had an ACL injury, I'd ruptured my ACL so I'd had to recover from that and I feel like that gave me an edge above everybody else, and with covid, in that I'd kind of already dealt with it. I had had those three months out of the pool and I'd come back and then covid happened and then everybody was out for another three months. So I feel like that had given me the edge above everyone else knowing that I can come back from this; I've already done it." (stateofswimming.com, 17 Apr 2021)

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
6 2021 Tokyo, JPN 100m Backstroke 58.70
1 2021 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:37.58
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
6 2024 Doha, QAT 100m Backstroke 1:00.42 
12 2024 Doha, QAT 50m Backstroke 28.22
8 2017 Budapest, HUN 100m Backstroke 59.90
Heats 2017 Budapest, HUN 50m Backstroke 28.42
7 2017 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:59.51
World Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
5 2016 Windsor, ON, CAN 200m Backstroke 2:04.09 
7 2016 Windsor, ON, CAN 50m Backstroke 26.42
5 2016 Windsor, ON, CAN 100m Backstroke 56.73
European Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
1 2021 Budapest, HUN 100m Backstroke 58.49
2 2021 Budapest, HUN 50m Backstroke 27.46
1 2021 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:54.01
1 2021 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:38.82
Semifinal 2018 Glasgow, SCO 100m Backstroke 1:00.57
12 2018 Glasgow, SCO 50m Backstroke 28.11
3 2018 Glasgow, SCO 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
3 2016 London, ENG 100m Backstroke 59.68
Semifinal 2016 London, ENG 200m Backstroke 2:11.81
Heats 2016 London, ENG 50m Backstroke 28.55
1 2016 London, ENG 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:58.57
European Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Heats 2023 Otopeni, ROU 200m Backstroke 2:05.44
8 2023 Otopeni, ROU 50m Backstroke 26.83
4 2023 Otopeni, ROU 100m Backstroke 57.30
4 2023 Otopeni, ROU 4 x 50m Medley Relay  
3 2023 Otopeni, ROU 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:44.67