Aged just 13 at the time, Ellie Simmonds was the second youngest Paralympian in British history to win a medal of any colour when she competed at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.
The fact that she went on to win two gold medals in her first Games and follows the simple philosophy "work hard and be yourself" won her the hearts of the British nation. Thanks to her success she also picked up the BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year award in the same year.
In February 2009 she became the youngest person ever to be appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and later that year won six gold and a silver medal at the IPC World Championships Short Course in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Born with achondroplasia (dwarfism), Simmonds followed up her 2008 and 2009 successes with four gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
At the 2011 IPC Swimming European Championships in Berlin, Simmonds went head-to-head with her Dutch rival Miriam de Koning-Peper, and ended up winning two gold, one silver and bronze medal.
Going into London she was one of the ‘poster girls’ of the Games and thanks to one of her sponsors, a giant image of Simmonds appeared down the side on one of the building’s facing the Olympic Park.
Despite the immense pressure on her, she duly delivered in front of her home crowd claiming two gold, one silver and one bronze medal. She also broke two world records. Her tears of joy at beating American rival Victoria Arlen was one of the images of London 2012 and cemented her place as one of Great Britain’s most popular and recognised sport stars.
In the 2013 New Year's Honours list, she was awarded an Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, and will be ready to reignite her rivalry with Arlen at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships.
