Jessica Tuomela

Jessica Tuomela (born August 3, 1983) is a Canadian paralympic competitive swimmer who was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Tuomela was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, to a Portuguese mother and Finnish Canadian father. Although blinded by retinoblastoma at the age of three, she has succeeded in competitive swimming despite her disability. Competing at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia, Tuomela earned a silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle as well as three sixth-place finishes in the 100 freestyle, 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter medley.

Her accomplishments merited an invitation to the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, where she placed fourth in the 50-meter freestyle and had two sixth-place finishes in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke. Tuomela also set five Canadian records in swimming. She won two gold medals in May, 2006 at the Belgian Paralympic Championships in the 50-meter breaststroke and 100-meter backstroke. She also took the silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke. Tuomela currently resides in British Columbia where she has been working with dogs, training in scent discrimination to find missing persons. In May 2023, she successfully tracked an individual with dementia who had gone for a walk and didn't return.

In 1998 Tuomela was one of 35 young people from North America and Russia to win the "Yes I Can" award, which recognizes the accomplishments of people with disabilities. She was honored in Sault Ste. Marie in 1992 for her academic achievements. On September 30, 2006, Tuomela became one of the first ten inductees in the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame.

In June 2022, Tuomela and guide Emma Skaug were named to Canada's 2022 Commonwealth Games team.