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Alice Tai had to relearn how to swim after choosing to have her right leg amputated but now she is a Paralympic champion. The 25-year-old elected to amputate her leg below the knee to relieve her of pain only two years ago.
In Paris, she stormed to women’s S8 100 metre backstroke gold in a Paralympic record time of 1:09.06, 5.91 seconds quicker than the rest of the competition.
“The last three years has been crazy, I’ve had six surgeries on three different limbs over the course of two and a half years,” she said.
“A lot has happened in my personal life. Just being here, I feel that I’ve made myself proud and everyone supporting me proud. A lot of people know that it has not been the easiest few years so to come here and swim a time that I’m really happy just means so much and for that to get me my first individual gold at the Paralympics is super special.”
Tai detailed how her amputation has led to two years of work on her stroke and she trialled a new backstroke start only five days ago. It shows that even as she adds a first individual Paralympic title to relay gold and individual bronze won in Rio, she can get even better.
The issues in her personal life in the build-up to the Games in Paris included illness for her grandmother, while her grandfather passed away earlier this year.
“They’re my biggest fans and they have been since day one. I would not be here at all without them,” said Tai. “Getting back into training, and being here I know my grandad isn’t here watching but wherever he is I know he is super proud.
“If there is a spare seat out there, he has probably found it and he’s got his Union Jack waistcoat on and I would like to imagine he was screaming his head off.
“I hope my Nan was watching and I hope that she’s proud and I hope that my grandad is proud and all of my family.”
Tai’s gold marked the end of a glorious 37 minutes during which ParalympicsGB eclipsed the Olympic medal rush experienced on Super Saturday at London 2012.
Three golds, plus a silver and bronze for good measure, came seven minutes faster than the trio of athletics gold on that special night 12 years ago.
Stephen Clegg got the party started with gold and a world record in the men’s S12 100m backstroke to win his first Paralympic gold and get the monkey off his back that had haunted him since he won silver and two bronzes at Tokyo 2020.
He said: “Coming into this, I wanted to have a good go on this race to get the monkey off the back. That gold had been a long time coming.
“As soon as I touched that wall in Tokyo, I wanted it more than ever. Going into Tokyo I had the plan of retiring if I won and that didn’t happen.
“Three years have been spent revising my approach to the sport and rediscovering my love for the sport and it’s brought me to here.
“Now I can look back and almost be grateful for that second place in Tokyo and know that not necessarily it was reason, but that if I didn’t finish second, I might not be here today. Breaking world records is an incredible thing and now I’ve got two.”
His roommate William Ellard followed suit only 14 minutes later, winning gold also in a world record time in the men’s S14 200m freestyle for his second medal of the Games.
Ellard paid tribute to his grandmother who passed away four years ago, revealing that her last message to him had been predicting his appearance at Paris 2024.
He said: “To have my family behind me, my nan in the back of my head, I did it for her. She died about four years ago, she was my biggest supporter when I was swimming. The last thing she ever said to me on WhatsApp was ‘see you in Paris, 2024’.”
Before Tai took to the pool, Poppy Maskill and Louise Fiddes finished second and third in the women’s S14 200m freestyle with Maskill winning her second medal of her debut Games.
Tai’s remarkable win came 23 minutes after Ellard’s to take ParalympicsGB’s tally in the pool to seven gold, three silver and one bronze after only three days.
Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024.
