Ellie
Simmonds defended her Olympics title in glorious fashion on Monday Sep 12,2016 as she
took her first gold in world record time at Rio in the Paralympic pool.
At
21 years old, who has achondroplasia, a common cause of dwarfism, won
her fifth Paralympic gold in the S6 200m individual medley, coming back
dramatically after falling behind to main rival Lingling Song of China.
She
had been in sixth place after 50m and needed all her trademark grit and
determination to beat the field, battling Yelyzaveta Mereshko from the
Ukraine, who is ranked higher than Simmonds.
But with 50m to go,
making the most of her stronger strokes, she was in the lead and touched
the final wall in 2.59.81, becoming the first paralympian woman ever to
swim the race under three minutes
5 Memorable Moments of Ellie Simmonds Career
1. Shockwave in the Water Cube
Simmonds
was a 13-year-old when she won two gold medals in Beijing, a Games she
enjoyed so much that she did not want to go back to Olchfa school in
south Wales, except to see her friends. She timed her finish to
perfection to claim a shock win in the S6 100m freestyle in the Water
Cube, before adding gold in her favourite event, the 400m freestyle. She
had predicted the 100m medal the previous evening - only she dreamt
about the wrong colour. 'I had a dream about it, but I only came
second,' she told Press Association Sport in Beijing in 2008.
2. Swansea switch
Simmonds
and her mum, Val, split their time between the west Midlands and south
Wales, so she could be coached by Billy Pye, a former miner based in
Swansea. That was 12 months prior to Beijing. She has since had spells
at Loughborough and now Manchester. One thing that has not changed is
her thirst for hard work. She said: 'My 400 work is my best work - the
hard endurance stuff. It is my favourite event and whenever I dive in
for a 400 I just love it.'
3. Face of London 2012
So
captivating was Simmonds' story from Beijing that she became a darling
of British sport. And a huge portrait of Simmonds adorned the side of
the Westfield shopping centre by the Olympic Park in Stratford ahead of
the 2012 Paralympics. The expectation was like water off a duck's back
for Simmonds, who delivered by defending her S6 400m freestyle title and
triumphed in the SM6 200m individual medley, too, to give her four
Paralympic titles aged 17. She also claimed S6 100m freestyle silver and
50m freestyle bronze.
4. Great British Bake Off
Following
Beijing, Simmonds had a tour of the McLaren Formula One team's
headquarters with then world champion Lewis Hamilton, which was a life
highlight. Post-London she went on the Great British Bake Off for Comic
Relief - 'I loved that,' said the keen baker - to the Stella McCartney
fashion show in Paris and on the Alan Carr Show. Now Bake Off is
following her - well, the Paralympics - from BBC to Channel 4.
5. Record setter
Simmonds
is used to setting records in the pool and has featured in the Guinness
Book of Records. She favoured looking at more unusual feats than the
sporting records when perusing the book as a child, though. She said: 'I
used to get the book every Christmas. I always looked out for the weird
records, like how many piercings, or the tattoos. But I don't think I
could imagine myself all tattooed up. I don't think it's for me. I don't
like needles.'
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