[1] She is the sister of swimmer Siobhan Paton, who won six gold medals at the 2000 Summer Paralympics, and holds 13 world records in S14 category (intellectual disability).

[2][3][4] She challenged seven other swimmers on the second heat, including former bronze medalist Jana Henke of Germany and top medal favorite Diana Munz of the United States.

[7] In 2005, Paton won her first ever individual career title in the 1500 m freestyle at the Australian long course championships in Sydney, in a qualifying entry time of 16:17.20.

At the FINA World Championships in Montreal, Canada, Paton missed the final with a tenth-place finish in the 1500-metre freestyle, outside her entry time of 16:37.18.

In 2006, Paton moved to England to train and take up an academic scholarship with a degree in sports performance at the University of Bath.