Monique
Murphy

In April 2014, Monique Murphy woke from an induced coma without her right foot. A week earlier, she had fallen from a fifth-floor balcony at a university party – she suspects her drink had been spiked – and landed on a glass roof. Monique suffered a broken jaw, collarbone and ribs, lacerations to her neck, a torn triceps tendon and a tibial plateau fracture.

Her injuries were horrific, but one year – and eight operations – later and Monique was representing Australia at the 2015 International Paralympic Committee Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. There, she placed sixth in the women’s 400m freestyle S10 and seventh in the women’s 100m butterfly S10, well and truly establishing herself as one to watch in the lead-up to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

And that’s exactly what she was. In Rio, Monique won a silver medal in the women’s 400m freestyle S10, 900 days to the day after her fall. It was a fairytale beginning to her Paralympic career, and a fitting end to her rehabilitation – Monique says that it was through the support of the Paralympic community that she was able to let go of her past and embrace her future – as an athlete with a disability with a dream of representing her country.

Monique just missed the podium at last September’s 2019 World Para-swimming Championships, with a best result of fourth in the 400m freestyle, but together with her coach, Harley Connolly, is on track for a standout 2020.

When she’s not training, Monique is studying a Bachelor of Business at Griffith University in QLD. She already holds a Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) from Melbourne’s RMIT University.