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From Near Tragedy In Tokyo To World No.1

From Near Tragedy In Tokyo To World No.1
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After breezing through the Heat of his last event at the Tokyo Paralympics, Tom Gallagher felt a twitching pain in his abdomen.

It was the familiar symptom of a serious condition he’d faced for many years. So serious, it had led those in his network including his parents and various medical professionals to urge him to quit swimming.

“It was at the stage where I’d been close to dying many times,” the 24-year-old said. “So I could understand why everyone wanted me to quit.

“People were saying, ‘You’ve got to put your life first’. Even at the surf club, before I was swimming, I was told to stop and I didn’t. I just love training and competing too much.”

Now, after coming fifth in both the 50m and 100m freestyle S10, with only the 400m to go at his first Games, no stomach twitch was going to get in the way.

“I knew what it was,” he said. “But I wasn’t going to tell anyone because I wanted to race in that Final.”

Gallagher got his wish. That evening he “dropped a crazy PB” and claimed the bronze medal. It was an extraordinary achievement for an athlete who had only switched from surf lifesaving to pool swimming 10 months earlier.

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But Gallagher never got his moment on the podium. Celebrations came to a shuddering halt when that stomach twitch erupted into a full-blown medical emergency.

“I did all the interviews, it was all sweet and then it hit me like a train,” he said. “The blood flow stopped and it all just hit me at once.

“By the time I got to hospital I was in an awful state. My heart rate got up to 230, I was frothing at the mouth and my organs were starting to shut down.”

Gallagher spent two weeks in hospital before he was repatriated by Medivac. Over the next year he suffered more attacks, including one just before the 2022 World Championships which ruled him out. It seemed the former Ironman’s career could be over.

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Gallagher recounts these events on a phone call from the Australian Team’s staging camp in France before the 2023 Para-Swimming World Championships in Manchester, which starts on Monday. It seems inconceivable that from the dire situation in Tokyo and chronic problems afterwards he arrives at the championships ranked world No.1 in the 50 metres and No.3 in the 100 metres.

It’s taken patience and upheaval. It’s taken research and a brilliant surgeon. Perhaps above all, it’s taken the perseverance of an athlete dedicated to finding his limit.

“It’s been hard to come back but it’s made me very resilient and I wouldn’t change anything,” Gallagher said.

“If I can get the victory I want, it’ll feel that much better having gone through what I have.

“I just want to race at the Worlds and use all those issues over the past two years as an extra motivation. I’ve gone through so much just to get to the starting line, but I look at it as a good thing.”

Gallagher’s coach admires his student’s attitude.

“Tom’s had an incredible journey to get to where he is,” said Olympic gold medallist Ashley Callus, who trains Gallagher in his group at Somerset on the Gold Coast.

“Considering everything he’s battled, he’s done extremely well to get to this level and I think he can go another step.”

The pair met when Gallagher was training with Burleigh Surf Club under coach Michael King. The teams trained at Somerset at the same time.

“In October 2020, Kingy asked me if this kid, who I’d never heard of, Tom Gallagher, could come over and do some swimming,” Callus said.

“I was watching him, he was keeping up with our guys when we were doing some of the more aerobic stuff and I thought, ‘This is not bad’.

“From there Tom evolved into joining our group, went to get classified, did well at the Trials and was off to Tokyo.”

Gallagher moved to the Sunshine Coast after the Paralympics, before reuniting with Callus at Somerset.

“He was going through a lot of health concerns, we had a chat and he decided he wanted to try a different program. I just said to him, ‘Do what’s best for you’.

“Wind the clock forward two years, he’s back with our group and I think he’s only just scratching the surface of what he’s capable of.”

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In the aftermath of the emergency in Tokyo there was a breakthrough when doctors discovered a kink in one of Gallagher’s arteries. They found that when he exercised it prevented blood flow to the stomach region resulting in pancreatic attacks.

Gallagher’s mother, who is a doctor, researched the condition and found a surgeon the family felt understood the problem and could perform the operation. Since the procedure late last year Gallagher has had no issues.

“I can train as hard as I want now without ending up in hospital every other weekend,” he said.

Which is a good thing because the 400 metres S10 is not a world championship event, meaning Gallagher’s focus has shifted entirely to sprint distances. At Manchester, he will race the 50 and 100 freestyle, the 100 backstroke and potentially the 4×100 freestyle relay. These are the events he wants to contest at the Paris Paralympics next year.

“Every athlete has their own motivations and Tom certainly has his,” Callus said.

“He’s vigilant with everything he does in and out of the pool, things like diet, sleep, recovery. He’s got a burning desire to get the best out of himself, which is why he couldn’t walk away from the sport.”

Callus said Gallagher had become an integral member of the Somerset group.

“Sometimes the guys are tired or whatever and then they see the way Tom goes about it, they think about what he’s been through and it actually lifts them. They understand what he’s encountered and overcome.”

Gallagher feels free.

“It’s such a relief,” he said. “I know what it’s like to put in all the work and nothing pays off. Now I have no restrictions in my training and I just feel happier in myself. Being part of the Australian team again is great and it’s comforting to know that I’ve been through a lot to get back here.

“Not worrying about having an attack on the pool deck has definitely changed the dynamic for me. I can just enjoy swimming now.”

By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 28 July 2023