Patterson was just 15 when she made her senior international debut for ‘the Dolphins’ at Glasgow 2014 and later this year, the now 27-year-old is aiming to make a golden return to the city where she first donned Australia’s iconic ‘green and gold’ kit.

It was an event which began with bronze, in the S8 100m Freestyle, but her wider experiences gained through the multi-sport Games helped the young swimmer realise her potential and prepare her for Rio 2016, where she claimed two Paralympic crowns.

“Glasgow 2014 was the first time really that I’d been exposed to a Games environment, being on the same team as a lot of our Olympic counterparts who I idolised growing up and also being on the team with these Paralympic superstars that I looked up to,” she recalls.

“I was the youngest swimmer on our Australian swim team, but a lot of the other athletes were really incredibly accommodating, they helped me grow up and teach me things about how to become this Australian ‘Dolphin’ swimmer.

“To see where I've come from then, to now, is pretty extraordinary for me.”

 

Patterson is keen to emphasise that in addition to being key in terms of her development, Glasgow 2014 also played a “pivotal” role in raising awareness about the strengths of Australian para swimmers, back in her homeland.

“It was Australia's largest team at the time in terms of integration of able-bodied and Paralympic athletes in a competition,” Patterson states enthusiastically.

“That was a pretty pivotal moment for our Australian team and the wider public in terms of recognising both aspects of our team, because we are one team.

“To be able to share that excitement with the rest of the country and then to see that evolution grow, to get bigger every single Games and to be able to really show what we can do as one team Australian team has been amazing.”

12 months later she was back in Glasgow’s Tollcross International Swimming Centre for her World Championships debut, where five medals, including a maiden major title in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, helped solidified her status as a rising talent within the sport.

Come Rio 2016 she would graduate to ‘established star’ by claiming two Paralympic titles, including her first individual gold, in the S8 100m Freestyle.

 

She sees the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games though as one of her most “memorable experiences” after securing two further titles in home waters.

“Having that at home, in terms of Queensland and to be able to have my family there was super special as that was the first time they were able to watch me at a major competition,” she recalls.

“Off the back of my first Commonwealths in 2014, gaining that that mini ‘Games experience’ with my first medal, then going into the Paralympics and having that major experience, followed by a home Games meant that I really felt I’d found a bit of a groove.

“I understood what it meant to be a ‘Dolphin’ and to be a full part of the team and then personally to come away with two gold medals, which I really didn’t expect made it a dream Games and it really reignited that spark to keep going.”

Lakeisha Patterson is a three-time World champion in the women's 400m freestyle S9.

Photography World Para Swimming / IPC

The Australian placed fifth at Birmingham 2022, while racing ‘up a category’ – against athletes with less severe impairments than herself – and in her less-favoured SM10 200m Individual Medley discipline, but is targeting a return to the podium at Glasgow 2026.

The next edition of the multi-sport Games represents not only a return to a significant city in the story of her career, but also the United Kingdom, which played a “vital” role in her journey to para sport.

Patterson was born in a ‘breech’ position, leading to her being deprived of oxygen, which resulted in her suffering a stroke. She would subsequently be diagnosed with cerebral palsy left hemiplegia, which affects movement and balance on the left side of her body.

Swimming formed part of her rehabilitation as a child, but around the time of the London 2012 Paralympics the then 13-year-old was told by medical professionals that she had early onset Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.

Instead of end her aspirations though, it arguably gave her even greater motivation to fight for what she wanted to achieve in the sport.

“The London Paralympics really brought so much awareness into what para sport is and how extraordinary Paralympic athletes are,” says Patterson.

“Seeing that movement within their country was really inspiring and I think the Glasgow 2026, Commonwealth Games are such an incredible way to continue to set the stage in terms of competition standard and bringing that awareness of the ability of Paralympic athletes.

“For me it will also be special to know I’m kind of going full circle back to the Commonwealth Games, from Glasgow 2014, to Glasgow 2026 and I know that these Games are going to show how much the sport has evolved to even greater heights.”

Lakeisha Patterson is a three-time Paralympic champion.

Photography Olympic Information Service / OBS / IOC

Patterson also sees Glasgow 2026 as an important step towards her home Paralympic Games, Brisbane 2032, believing that the Commonwealth Games can help built crucial support in her homeland for the Australian para swimming squad.

“It’s always great when people from Australia get behind us and we’ve seen a real shift over the last couple of years in terms of support where they are really taking pride in seeing us perform and collect medals for our country,” she explains.

“Glasgow 2026 will again give us that opportunity to showcase what we as Australians can do and how extraordinary we are.

“Also, to inspire athletes to dream big and keep going, which I think is a great thing to do, to set ourselves up for success come the Paralympic Games in Brisbane.”

Glasgow 2026 will run from 23 July to 2 August, with the Para Swimming programme taking place from 24 to 29 July. To find out how you can attain tickets to watch sports at the next edition of the Commonwealth Games, CLICK HERE.