Leanne Taylor

Taylor was born in England^[1] and is from Oak Bluff, Manitoba.^[2] She moved to Wasaga Beach, Ontario when she was 10-years old^[1] and graduated from Jean Vanier Catholic High School in Collingwood, Ontario now called Our Lady of the Bay Catholic High School.^[3]

In 2019, Taylor competed in her first paratriathlon, the Paratriathlon American Championships in Florida.^[4] She failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.^[5]

In 2024, Taylor won the Americas Paratriathlon Championships Miami in the Women's PTWC classification. Taylor won her first career gold medal on the World Triathlon Para Series circuit at the Swansea event in 2024 with a time of 1:12:21.^[6] She placed second at the next World Triathlon Para Series event that year in Montreal.^[7][8]

Taylor competed in paratriathlon at the 2024 Summer Paralympics and won a bronze medal in the PTWC event.^[9] She was the first Canadian woman to win a Paralympic medal in paratriathlon.^[10] Following the 2024 Paralympics, Taylor began training for the 2028 Paralympics with coach Lisa Mensink. She placed third in the women’s division of the Philadelphia Marathon in November 2024.^[11]

Taylor was paralyzed from the waist down in a mountain biking accident in Bison Butte Trail in southwest Winnipeg in 2018,^[2] when she broke her back at the 11th thoracic vertebrae.^[4] She lives in Winnipeg with her husband, Scott Dyck,^[12][9] and is a compliance officer for a pharmaceutical company.^[13]