If you enjoy watching sports, and the Olympics and Paralympic, in particular, you will probably have come across the name Ellie Simmonds. She is one of the most recognised athletes, following her Gold medal wins at the Beijing, London and Rio Paralympic Games.
Ellie was born with achondroplasia which is also known as dwarfism. Some individuals with the condition may need support from Mobility Aids like those from Ability Superstore to carry out specific tasks. Ellie has found many ways to adjust, and throughout her career as an athlete, she has won 33 Gold Medals, 14 Silver and 17 Bronze and competed in national and international competitions.
As well as receiving an incredible number of sporting achievements she was also the youngest person to be awarded an OBE at just 14 years of age, after being presented with the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award the year before.
In September of this year, Ellie announced that she was retiring from the Paralympics as she felt that she wanted to leave the sport whilst she was at the top of her game. As well as being an athlete, she is also one of the patrons of the Dwarf Sports Association UK, where she helps to ensure other young people with stature based conditions thrive in the sporting world. Every year in the Spring, the Association holds a convention that brings these budding athletes together.