Ellie Cole

When Ellie Cole left her room at the Australian Institute of Sport and made her way to the airport for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, she told herself she would return home a gold medallist. Not only did she win gold, she did it four times over, touching the wall first in the women’s 100m backstroke S9, women’s 100m freestyle S9, women’s 4x100m freestyle 34 Points and women’s 4x100m medley 34 Points. She also won bronze medals in the women’s 50m freestyle S9 and women’s 400m freestyle S9.

So naturally, when Ellie returned to the pool for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, she was a hot favourite to win gold. She did not disappoint. Ellie won medals in all six of her events, sharing the title of Australia’s top medallist from the Games alongside Dolphins teammate Lakeisha Patterson. She waited until her final race on the final night of Para-swimming competition to win individual gold, but it was a race worth waiting for, with Ellie putting everything she had into touching the wall just 0.39 seconds ahead of her nearest rival in the women’s 100m backstroke S9, Nuria Marques Soto from Spain.

Ellie’s career in Para-swimming has been decades in the making. Her success did not come overnight, and was the culmination of years of hard work that began just eight weeks after her right leg was amputated, when she began swimming as a form of rehabilitation as a three-year-old. To continue to reach new heights, Ellie has relocated to Sydney, NSW, from the Sunshine Coast, QLD, to train under Simon Cusack and alongside Olympic champions Cate and Bronte Campbell. She will be doing everything in her power over the next 12 months to defend her gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.