Lili-Fox Mason started her swimming journey at a young age through learn to swim lessons. Growing up, she found herself participating in primary school swimming carnivals which she really enjoyed as she was able to keep up with the other kids and be pain-free in the water.

While Mason’s interest in competing didn’t come straight away, it steadily grew after she joined the Parafed Canterbury squad and attended the Halberg Games as part of their junior sports team. This led to Mason briefly joining her local Waitaha Swim Club in 2017, before returning to competitive swimming a year later when she settled in at Wharenui Swim Club. While initially hesitant to start competitive swimming, Mason was encouraged by her coaches to give it a go and grew to love it.

A big inspiration for Mason has been her uncle, who is an avid open water swimmer and a huge supporter of her swimming career. The support she receives from her family and wider support system has been instrumental in her journey as an athlete.

Working with coach Matt Houston, the teenager made her international debut in 2022 at the Para Swimming World Series in Indianapolis. Only a few months later, Mason made her debut as Aquablack #273 at the Para Swimming World Championships in Madeira. It was an impressive debut for the 17-year-old, making finals in the S10 400m freestyle and S10 100m butterfly and going on to finish seventh and eighth in the world, respectively.

Reflecting on her first taste of racing at the international level, Mason said:

“2022 was a huge eye-opener in terms of how far swimming could take me. It was my first time overseas and it was such a cool experience to be part of an event on such a huge scale.”

The following year Mason competed overseas four times, continuing to build her experience on the international scene.

In February 2023, Mason competed at the Para Swimming World Series in Melbourne, where she won her first international medal by taking bronze in the 400m freestyle. At the following series meet in Singapore, Mason was a member of the mixed 4x100m medley relay (34 points) that won silver and made history as the first New Zealand team to win a medal internationally in a Para relay event.

Her efforts at the World Series served as a great stepping stone for her second Para Swimming World Championships. At the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester, Mason made another pinnacle final in the S10 100m butterfly to finish eighth overall.

Mason rounded out her busy year of swimming abroad, competing at the Queensland Championships in December and gaining more valuable racing experience in the process.

After qualifying for the Paralympic Games at the New Zealand Championships in April, Mason is set to make her Paralympic debut at Paris 2024.

Favourite quote: “If you change the way you look at things, things you look at change.” - Wayne Dyer

💥 Qualified for Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

Mason will compete at her first Paralympic Games in Paris, one of three New Zealand swimmers set to make their Games debut.

💥 Three-time finalist at Para Swimming World Championships

Mason has made three finals appearances across two Para Swimming World Championships. After placing seventh and eighth in the S10 400m freestyle and 100m butterfly events, respectively, at the 2022 edition of the championships, Mason went on to notch an eighth place finish in the S10 100m butterfly a year later in Manchester.

🥈 Two-time medallist at Para Swimming World Series

Having been to five Para Swimming World Series meets since her international debut in 2022, Mason won her first international medal at the 2023 Para Swimming World Series in Melbourne, securing bronze in the 400m freestyle. At the Singapore leg of the same series, Mason was part of the team that won New Zealand's first international Para relay medal when they placed second in the mixed 4x100m medley (34 points) event.

💥 Debuted as Aquablack #273 at the 2022 Para Swimming World Championships

Made her Aquablack debut at the 2022 Para Swimming World Championships in Madeira, where she contested three individual events in addition to relays.