Ella Pardy has always been ultra passionate about sport, which is why it comes as such a surprise to those who know her that it was not until turning 16 that she launched her career in Para-athletics.

Before Para-athletics came Para-equestrian, Para-swimming, basketball, ice skating – you name it – but it was only after hitting the track in the early 2000s that she really found her stride.

Initially, becoming a Paralympic athlete was not on Ella’s radar. She competed as an athlete with an intellectual impairment, including twice at the Global Games, before being reclassified as a T38 athlete – for her cerebral palsy, which she acquired at birth during her mammoth 28-hour delivery – and became eligible to compete in Para-athletics at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Paralympics.

Ella made her international debut at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, where she placed ninth in the …

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Date of birth
22 December 1990
Sport
Para-athletics
Past Paralympic Games

Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020

Impairment
Physical Impairment – Cerebral palsy
How acquired
Birth
Residence
Duncraig, WA
Occupation
Athlete
Started competing
2007
First competed for Australia
2014
Sport career highlights

Winning a bronze medal in the women’s 4x100m T35-38 at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

Greatest sporting moments

Cathy Freeman winning a gold medal in the women’s 400m at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

Heroes/role models

Kurt Fearnley

Favourite quote
It always seems impossible until it’s done - Nelson Mandela

Disciplines

  • Sport: Para-athletics Discipline: 100m Classification: T38
  • Sport: Para-athletics Discipline: 200m Classification: T38

Social Media

  • instagram