Ellie Charles, a 14-year-old girl with no arms and legs, was inspired to swim and chase her Tokyo 2020 Paralympic dream in not the most usual of ways. She was inspired to swim by a dolphin called Winter who lost its tail after it got caught in a crab pot. To save Winter’s life vets had to amputate her tail so she could survive. This is what happened to Ellie after she was diagnosed with meningitis as a baby. In her case both her arms and legs had to be amputated.
Ellie first saw Winter online and it inspired her to get into the pool. In 2013 her dream was made true when she got to visit and meet Winter. Ellie and her family now visit the dolphin every year. She is now chasing her latest dream which is to reach the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.
In 2018, Ellie broke the S4 British record and is now blazing a trail for similarly bodied athletes within the sport. After breaking the record Ellie got to meet her idol Ellie Simmonds who congratulated her and described the race as a “fantastic swim” and said she has every chance to break the record by even more.
Her dad who supports Ellie in all her races said “Anything your children want to do is always going to be a commitment, but it’s an absolute pleasure and I get an awful lot out of it when she competes. At the end of the day she is my child and I absolutely love doing it.”
We wish you all the success in the future and we will be keeping a keen eye out at Tokyo 2020!
To watch a video about Ellie and her dreams of success visit the Olympic website by clicking here.
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