Former Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds: 'Water was my life, my job, my obsession'
Simmonds, who scooped five Paralympic golds, eight World Championship golds and broke eight world records during her swimming career, all by her mid-20s, says: “I’ve been really, really lucky, I’ve had some great opportunities. But it’s definitely been an emotional rollercoaster, the highs and the lows. Because for so long, I was a swimmer; that was what I did and that was my purpose every single day, whether it was a four-year plan for the Paralympics, or a year-plan for World Championships, I knew where I had to be every single day. Then all of a sudden that goes out the window and you have all this freedom. Sometimes you don’t know what to do with that.”
She has found a new stride over the past couple of years, however – donning the ballroom sequins on Strictly Come Dancing in 2022, presenting for Channel 4’s Paralympic Games coverage last summer, and recently teaming up on a fashion line with Dewey, which creates clothes for people who are 5ft and under.
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Hide Ad“It’s been amazing, being able to discover new passions and help create change,” Simmonds, who is 4ft and was born with a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, says of getting involved with the brand. “For me, going to shops and stuff, I can’t just buy stuff off the shelf. Or I do, but I have to look and think – can I alter this, can I wear it? And I think with fashion, when you wear something [that just fits well], you feel confident, you feel comfortable, and it just changes how you feel. Whether it’s having a disability, or not, there are so many people out there who are 5ft and under, and now they can just go and get clothes they don’t have to alter. We’ve had such a positive response, it’s been wonderful.”
She’s also made a number of documentaries, including Finding My Secret Family for ITV (Simmonds, who grew up in Aldridge and later Swansea, was adopted as a baby) and A World Without Dwarfism? for BBC One, in which she investigated a controversial new drug that promises to help children with dwarfism grow to more average heights. She is also continuing in her longstanding role as an ambassador for the charity WaterAid.
Simmonds stars in a film for the charity’s ‘Where there’s water’ winter appeal, to help the one in 10 people around the world who don’t currently have access to clean water close to home. It features photos from her childhood and career.
“Water is everything to me. It was my life, my job, my obsession – everything,” says Simmonds, who was five when she fell in love with swimming, and 10 when she was talent-spotted and started on the path towards competing. "When you see around the world there’s still so many people who don’t have access to clean water, and the impact that has… It’s about raising awareness for me.”
Watch Ellie’s film at wateraid.org/ellie