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Ellie Cole of Australia celebrates winning the gold medal in the Women's 100m Backstroke - S9 Final on day 9 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

Ellie Cole

Swimming | Athletics
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Just as the Netflix documentary 'Rising Phoenix' depicts, Ellie Cole does not give up. The Australian faced a tough decision to retire after the London 2012 Paralympic Games, where she stole the thunder with four gold medals.

A reconstructive surgery on her shoulder in 2013 would have seen her out of the pool indefinitely, but Cole remained undeterred and was more determined to pursue her passion for swimming.

After recovering from the operation, Cole returned to training and in 2015 went on to win her first world titles. She left Glasgow, Great Britain, with three gold medals in the 100m backstroke S9, 100m freestyle S9 and 4 x 100m freestyle relay 34 points.

Her 100m backstroke title also came with a world record. A further bronze medal in the 50m freestyle S9 and a silver in the 4 x 100m medley relay 34 points sealed an incredible competition for the Melbourne-born athlete.

For her efforts, Cole received Swimming Australia’s Golden Moment Award in 2015.

At Rio 2016, Cole successfully defended her 100m backstroke title and was part of the relay team that defended their 4x100m freestyle relay 34 points crown. In all, she won medals in six of her events, sharing the honour as Australia's top medallist in Rio.

She returned to the London pool for the 2019 World Championships. She came away with a silver in the 100m backstroke and bronze in the 400m freestyle in her S9 class. While not satisfied, it only fuels the fire for Tokyo 2020.

Cole, whose right leg was amputated as a result of cancer at the age of two, excelled at swimming right from the start.

Eight weeks after the amputation, Cole’s mother took her swimming as part of the rehabilitation process. Her instructors predicted it would take her a year to learn to swim in a straight line. It took her two weeks.

Results

Unit Date Rank
IPC Swimming World Championships Durban 2006 (Durban, South Africa)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34 pts Final Round 6
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34 pts Final Round 5
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 6
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Heats 6
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heats 9
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Final Round 7
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Heats 8
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Final Round 2
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Heats 1
IPC Swimming World Championships Eindhoven 2010 (Eindhoven, Netherlands)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Heat 1 1
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Final Round 5
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Heat 3 5
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 2
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 5
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Heat 2 4
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Final Round 3
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 3
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Heat 1 2
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Final Round 4
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Heat 2 3
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Final Round 7
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 3
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 8
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games (Beijing, China)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Heat 2 4
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Final Round 3
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Heat 1 1
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 1
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 4
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 1
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 3
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Heat 2 1
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Final Round 2
London 2012 Paralympic Games (London, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Heat 2 2012-08-30 4
Women's 100 m Butterfly S9 Final Round 2012-08-30 4
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Heat 1 2012-08-31 1
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Final Round 2012-08-31 1
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Final Round 2012-09-03 1
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 2012-09-04 3
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 2012-09-04 2
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 2012-09-05 3
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 2012-09-05 1
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM9 Heat 1 2012-09-06 4
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 2012-09-07 1
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 2012-09-07 2
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Final Round 2012-09-07 1
2015 IPC Swimming World Championships (Glasgow, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Heat 2 2015-07-13 1
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Final 1 2015-07-13 1
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Final 1 2015-07-14 1
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 2015-07-14 1
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 2015-07-16 1
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Final 1 2015-07-16 1
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Final 1 2015-07-16 3
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Final 1 2015-07-19 2
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Heat 3 2016-09-09 1
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 2016-09-09 2
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 2016-09-12 3
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 2016-09-12 1
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 2016-09-13 1
Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 Final Round 2016-09-13 2
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Final Round 2016-09-15 1
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Final Round 2016-09-16 1
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Final Round 2016-09-16 2
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Heat 3 2016-09-16 1
London 2019 World Para Swimming Championships (London, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 2019-09-09 3
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Final 1 2019-09-09 4
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Final 1 2019-09-10 2
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Heat 1 2019-09-10 2
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Heat 1 2019-09-13 6
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Final 1 2019-09-13 5
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Final 1 2019-09-13 3
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Final 1 2019-09-15 5
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (Tokyo, Japan)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Heat 2 2021-08-25 1
Women's 400 m Freestyle S9 Final 2021-08-25 4
Women's 4x100 m Freestyle 34pts Final 2021-08-29 2
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Final 2021-08-30 4
Women's 100 m Backstroke S9 Heat 1 2021-08-30 2
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Heat 3 2021-08-31 2
Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 Final 2021-08-31 5
Women's 4x100 m Medley 34pts Final 2021-09-02 3