Australian Paralympic swimmer Ellie Cole, a six-time gold medallist, has revealed she was told she was a 'diversity hire' six years ago. The 29-year-old, who made her Paralympic debut at Beijing 2008 aged 16, said the comment, though likely intended as a joke, left her disheartened.
Speaking to Guardian Australia from a training camp in Cairns, Cole said: 'You know, six years ago, I was working at a place and I was told that I was a 'diversity hire'. And I think that's when I really started asking myself questions about what's happening outside of the sporting space. Because as a prolific athlete, I do live in a bit of a bubble. What's actually happening out there in the real world needs to be spoken about more.'
Cole had her right leg amputated at age three after a cancer diagnosis. She took up swimming eight weeks later as rehabilitation and has since won 15 Paralympic medals, including six golds, and holds the Paralympic Games Record for the Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay. She is now preparing for her fourth Paralympics in Tokyo.
Cole is also campaigning for WeThe15, a global human rights movement representing the estimated 15% of the world's population with disabilities. The campaign will feature in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony on 24 August. She said she thought of her parents when asked to participate: 'When they were told that I was going to have my leg amputated at three … their first response was that they felt this overwhelming sense of fear about what my future was going to be like.'
Cole is one of nine athletes profiled in the Netflix documentary Rising Phoenix, which also features Prince Harry. Previously speaking to the Daily Mail, she said: 'Having a disability and being an athlete doesn't really go hand in hand in most people's minds. This documentary is going to open people's eyes … we've overcome it and become Paralympians and better athletes than anyone would have ever imagined.'
