DISABILITY IS A
MATTER OF
PERCEPTION
GOD’S FINE FLAWS
PRESENTED BY
M.NANDANA
R.GOKUL
K.SREEMAN
ELLIE SIMMONDS- AN
EMBODIMENT OF SHATTER
PROOF DETERMINATION
A lady of cheer and vigour , she is utmost
talented.
She has Achondroplasia (dwarfism) and was only
123cms tall that is the height of a normal 2nd
grade boy, but ruled out all odds to become one of
the most skilful swimmers of this era.
A HAPPY CHILDHOOD
Ellie Simmonds was born as Eleanor May Simmonds to parents ,Mr. Steve Simmonds
and Mrs. Val Simmonds as the family baby on 11th November 1994 in Walsall, England.
She has four encouraging elder siblings who are the pillars of support .
Ellie Simmonds herself tells us about the fun and frolic the close knitted family shared
including riding bikes , going for long walks or picnics and holidaying in staycations.
In their first house in Aldridge , they had a pool for themselves and that was when Ellie
instilled in herself a liking for swimming.
She was very close to her grandparents as well.
She has also disclosed that her granddad fell asleep on the sofa frequently and mischievous
Ellie would be tempted to scribble on his face.
A SUBSTANTIAL
SACRIFICE
Ellie Simmonds tells us that when she was 11 years old her parents made a most arduous
decision.
Ellie and her mother were going to move to Swansea so that she could train with the GB
Squad for swimming.
Her dad had to stay back to look after her siblings.
Then she and her mother would take a drive to home every Saturday morning only to return
the next afternoon.
This ran for almost six whole years.
DEBUT
At the age of thirteen , young Simmonds went on to become the youngest British
athlete in swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics held at Beijing.
She competed in the 50m,100m and 400m freestyle,50m butterfly and 4200m
Individual Medley.
And lo! She bagged gold medals in the 100m and 400m freestyle events.
The man behind her success was her ever encouraging coach , Mr. Steve Bayley.
MAGNIFICENT
ACHIEVEMENTS
On 1st September 2012 , Ellie Simmonds again outshone at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
when she took five seconds off the world record time and won gold.
Post two days on the evening of 3rd September 2012 she bagged the Gold medal in the
200m Individual Medley , breaking the world record that she set in the qualifying round the
same morning.
The list does not end here , Simmonds also won 10 gold World Championships Titles.
HONOURS AND AWARDS
In 2008 Simmonds won the BBC Young Sports Personality of the year award.
In 2009 at a young age of fourteen , Simmonds was appointed ,Member of the
order of the British Empire (MBE).
She received this honour from Queen Elizabeth II on 18th February 2009 and
became the youngest person to receive this prestigious honour.
In March , 2012 in the 200m Individual Medley , she became the first swimmer to break a
world record at the London’s Aquatic Centre.
In 2011 , Simmonds grabbed the award for ‘Best British Sporting Performance for an
athlete with disability’ at the Jaguar Academy of Sports Annual Awards.
At the 2012 Summer Paralympics n London Simmonds wore with pride 4 medals which
include 2 golds , a silver and a bronze.
Ellie Simmonds was appointed Officer of the order of the British Empire(OBE) in the
2013 new year Honour for Services to Paralympic Sport.
2015 SPECIAL OLYMPICS IN
LOS ANGELES
Simmonds continued her ever impressive performances in 2015 Special Olympics
where she left everybody awestruck after she added a gold medal, a silver medal and
pair of bronze medals to her extravagant list of medals.
ELLIE SIMMONDS –A
PATRON OF LITERATURE
Ellie Simmonds also contributed to literature by penning a few books which deal with
various aspects of life.
These books include
• Ellie’s Magical Bakery :A Royal Tea for Royalty
• Ellie’s Magical Bakery : Brilliant Birthday Bakes
• Ellie’s Magical Bakery : Perfect Pie for a Perfect Pet
• Ellie’s Magical Bakery : Best cake for a Best Friend
Ellie Simmonds has proved that Disability is A Matter of Perception.
She used her determination as a weapon to eradicate the saying that Disabled People
cannot rise to great heights.
She is a strong willed person and proved that she would cross all limits to achieve success.
The height of her achievements makes us forget her real height.
She is also a fashionista who loves to be trendy.
Ellie Simmonds is a living example who justifies that height is never a barrier to achieve
success.
CREDITS
WIKIPEDIA-THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA
ELLIE SIMMONDS : MY FAMILY VALUES
ABOUT ELLIE SIMMONDS – PROFESSIONAL
SWIMMER FOR GREAT BRITAIN.
THANK YOU
FOR
WATCHING
