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 was 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.
At her fourth and final Paralympics at Tokyo 2020, she became Australia’s most decorated female Paralympian when she won her 17th Paralympic medal at the Games. The 29-year-old claimed a silver medal in the 34 points 4x100m freestyle relay, with Australia coming in behind Italy. In the women’s 4x100m medley relay, Ellie swam the leadout leg of the race, with Australia finishing with the bronze medal behind USA and Russia.
She was named as Australia’s flagbearer for the Tokyo 2020 Closing Ceremony to finish her Paralympic career.
“It honestly is a fairytale ending to such a wonderful career that I will treasure for the rest of my life,” Ellie said.
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