Ellie Simmonds

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Ellie Simmonds

| honorific_suffix = OBE

| image = Ellie Simmonds at SXSW London June 2025 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Simmonds in 2025

| image_size =

| full_name = Eleanor May Simmonds

| sport = Para swimming

| event = freestyle, individual medley, breaststroke

| disability = Achondroplasia

| disability_class = S6, SM6, SB6

| nickname = Ellie

| club = Camden Swiss Cottage Swimming Club, London

| coach = Steve Bayley

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|11|11|df=y}}

| birth_place = Glossop, Derbyshire, England{{cite news | last=Mayor | first=Rob | first2=Susie | last2=Rack | title=Ellie Simmonds' emotional search for birth mother | website=BBC News | date=6 July 2023 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-66121088 | access-date=24 November 2023}}

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height =

| weight =

| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Women's para swimming}}

{{MedalCountry|{{GBR2}}}}

{{MedalCount

|Paralympic Games|5|1|2

|World Championships|8|3|4

|World Championships (25 m)|6|1|0

|European Championships|7|2|0

}}

Eleanor May Simmonds (born 11 November 1994) is a British retired Paralympian swimmer who competed in S6 events. She came to national attention when she competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, winning two gold medals for Great Britain. She was the youngest member of the team, at the age of 13.

In 2012, she was again selected for the Great Britain squad, this time swimming at a home games in London. She won another two golds in London, including setting a World Record in the 400m freestyle, and a further gold medal at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, this time setting a world record for the 200m medley.

Early and personal life

Simmonds was born in Derbyshire, and is an adoptee.{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Lucy |title=Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children? review – fails to properly tackle the stigma around disabled babies |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/may/27/ellie-simmonds-should-i-have-children-review-fails-to-properly-tackle-the-stigma-around-disabled-babies |website=The Guardian |access-date=30 May 2025 |date=27 May 2025}} She grew up in Aldridge, a part of the Metropolitan Walsall Borough, and completed her primary education at Cooper and Jordan CofE Primary{{cite news |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/education/school-events/2016/12/07/ellie-simmonds-makes-a-splash-at-her-former-primary-school/ |title=Ellie Simmonds makes a splash at her former primary school |date=7 December 2016 |work=Express & Star |access-date=16 May 2018}} before attending Aldridge School and later Olchfa School in Swansea.{{cite web |url=http://www.walsalladvertiser.co.uk/Olympic-bronze-medalist-Joanne-Jackson-visits/story-24545649-detail/story.html |title=Olympic bronze medalist Joanne Jackson visits Walsall school |work=Walsall Advertiser |date=17 November 2014 |access-date=14 February 2016}}{{dead link|date=May 2018}}

Simmonds, who has achondroplasia, became interested in swimming at the age of five.{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/paralympic-sport/9544447/Ellie-Simmonds-golden-girl-of-the-Paralympics-says-she-will-never-forget-the-feeling-and-doesnt-want-it-to-end.html |title=Ellie Simmonds, golden girl of the Paralympics, says she will never forget the feeling and doesn't want it to end |date=15 September 2012 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=17 September 2012 |first=Oliver |last=Brown}} She swam for Boldmere Swimming Club in Sutton Coldfield, under Head Coach Ashley Cox, but she and her mother moved to Swansea when Simmonds was 11 to take advantage of the city's world-class swimming pool.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-19473243 |title=Paralympian Ellie Simmonds Swansea gold postbox honour |date=4 September 2012 |work=BBC News |access-date=17 September 2012}} Simmonds has three sisters and a brother.{{cite news |last=Ewing |first=Sarah |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/05/ellie-simmonds-my-family-values |title=Ellie Simmonds: My family values |date=5 September 2014 |work=The Guardian |access-date=19 April 2020 |issn=0261-3077}}

She studied Psychology at Loughborough University in England.{{cite web |url=https://www.paralympic.org/eleanor-simmonds |title=Eleanor Simmonds – Swimming {{!}} Paralympic Athlete Profile|website=International Paralympic Committee|language=en|access-date=19 April 2020}} She was in a relationship with Matt Dean until 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/strictly-come-dancings-ellie-simmonds-25090790|title=Strictly Come Dancing's Ellie Simmonds plans to 'grab her partner and hope for the best' in new series|first1=Nicola|last1= Methven|first2=Olivia |last2=Garrett|date=23 September 2022|website=Cambridge News|access-date=25 September 2022}}

Career

At the age of 13, Simmonds was the youngest British athlete{{cite web |url=http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/living/sport/gb-squad-takes-shape |title=GB squad takes shape |access-date=9 August 2008 |archive-date=14 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914044640/http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/living/sport/gb-squad-takes-shape |work=Disability Now}} at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, competing in the 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle, 50m butterfly, and 200m Individual Medley.{{cite web |url=http://www.paralympics.org.uk/core/core_picker/download.asp?id=680&filetitle=Swimming+Team+Biographies |title=GB Swimming Team Biographies |access-date=9 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609155100/http://www.paralympics.org.uk/core/core_picker/download.asp?id=680&filetitle=Swimming+Team+Biographies |archive-date=9 June 2011}} She won gold medals in the 100m and 400m freestyle events.{{cite web |last1=Davies |first1=Gareth A. |title=Eleanor Simmonds claims two swimming gold medals at 2008 Beijing Paralympics |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/paralympic-sport/2964791/Eleanor-Simmonds-claims-two-gold-swimming-medals-at-the-2008-Paralympics-in-Beijing-Paralympics.html |website=The Telegraph |access-date=14 January 2017 |date=15 September 2008}}

On 1 September 2012, Simmonds repeated her gold performance to win the 400m freestyle at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, in which she took five seconds off the World Record time.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/disability-sport/19448550 |title=Paralympics 2012: Ellie Simmonds wins gold in world record |access-date=1 September 2012 |last=Hudson |first=Elizabeth |date=1 September 2012 |work=BBC Sport}} Two days later, on the evening of 3 September, she took Gold in the 200m Individual Medley, breaking the World Record that she had set in the qualifying round that morning.{{cite web |title=Golden girl Simmonds shines again |url=http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/news/articles/golden-girl-simmonds-shines-again.html |publisher=London 2012 Paralympics |access-date=3 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903230457/http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/news/articles/golden-girl-simmonds-shines-again.html |archive-date=3 September 2012}}

On 12 September 2016, at the Rio Paralympics, Simmonds defended her gold medal for the 200m individual medley setting a new world record, the first below 3 minutes at 2:59.81{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/37345523 |title=Simmonds wins gold and makes history |date=12 September 2016 |access-date=13 September 2016 |work=BBC Sport}} Simmonds also won a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.{{cite news |last=McRae |first=Donald |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jan/11/ellie-simmonds-swimming-rio-tokyo-paralympics-interview-donald-mcrae |title=Ellie Simmonds: 'Going into Rio, swimming for me had been life or death' |date=11 January 2020 |work=The Guardian |access-date=19 April 2020 |issn=0261-3077}}

In addition, Simmonds has won ten gold World Championship titles,{{cite news |title=Eleanor Simmonds |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/paralympic-sport/paralympics-gb/8725575/Eleanor-Simmonds-Paralympics-GB-London-2012-Olympics.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524052931/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/paralympic-sport/paralympics-gb/8725575/Eleanor-Simmonds-Paralympics-GB-London-2012-Olympics.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2012 |access-date=31 August 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}} and swims in the S6 disability category.

On 2 September 2021, Simmonds announced her Paralympic retirement after missing out on a medal in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/58419571|title=Ellie Simmonds says Paralympic career is over after missing out on medal|date=2 September 2021|work=BBC Sport|accessdate=9 September 2021}}

After retiring from competitive swimming, Simmonds has gone on to present for BBC Sport, including for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games[https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sport/commonwealth-games-2022-presenters/ Radio Times. Commonwealth Games 2022 presenters. Retrieved 31 October 2023] and the 2024 Paralympics.

Since 2023, Simmonds has been one of several British Olympians and Paralympians to feature in adverts for British Gas.{{cite news|url=https://www.marketing-beat.co.uk/2023/10/17/british-gas-team-gb-stars/|title=British Gas flips sporting stereotypes with Team GB stars|last=Louis|first=Yasmeen|date=17 October 2023|work=MarketingBeat|accessdate=4 December 2024}}

In August 2024, Simmonds was a guest on the How to Fail podcast, hosted by Elizabeth Day.{{cite web|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ellie-simmonds-being-different-is-a-superpower/id1407451189?i=1000666764183|title=Ellie Simmonds – Being different is a superpower.|website=Apple Podcasts|accessdate=7 September 2024}}

Television career

On 7 August 2022, it was announced that Simmonds would be participating in the twentieth series of the BBC One show Strictly Come Dancing with her professional dance partner being Nikita Kuzmin.{{cite news |date=7 August 2022 |title=Strictly Come Dancing 2022: Paralympian Ellie Simmonds joins line-up |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-62407451 |access-date=7 August 2022}}{{cite web |last=Sansome |first=Jessica |date=23 October 2022 |title=Strictly's Nikita addresses fan worry as he disappears after illegal lift drama |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/tv/bbc-strictly-come-dancings-nikita-25333644 |access-date=24 October 2022 |website=Manchester Evening News }} She was eliminated in Week 7 after losing the dance off to Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/entries/2fccc3b2-1460-4062-8f4d-fe2759beb27f|title=Ellie and Nikita depart the dance floor in Week Seven|date=6 November 2022|website=BBC}}

Also, Simmonds competed on TV show The Great Celebrity Bake-Off (series 2, episode 2) and has appeared on a number of other television programmes including Saturday Night Takeaway, Ellie Simmonds: Swimming with Dolphins, Would I Lie to You? and The Crystal Maze.[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3839287/ IMDB. Ellie Simmonds. Retrieved 31 October 2023]

Her documentaries include A World without Dwarfism (2022),[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/apr/05/ellie-simmonds-a-world-without-dwarfism-review-are-drugs-really-the-answer. The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2023] Finding My Secret Family (2023),[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jul/06/tv-tonight-ellie-simmondss-deeply-moving-search-for-her-birth-mother. The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2023] and Should I Have Children? (2025).

Simmonds' 2023 documentary Ellie Simmonds: Finding My Secret Family won Best Single Documentary at the 2024 British Academy Television Awards.{{cite web|url=https://awards.bafta.org/award/2024/television/single-documentary|title=BAFTA Television 2024: Television Single Documentary in 2024|website=bafta.org|accessdate=8 August 2024}}

In August 2024, Simmonds won the fourth series of Cooking with the Stars.

Honours and awards

Simmonds won the 2008 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award.{{cite web|url=http://www.paralympics.org.uk/show_news.asp?itemid=2489&itemTitle=Paralympian+Eleanor+Simmonds+named+BBC+Young+Sports+Personality+of+the+Year+2008%2E§ion=000100010006 |title=Paralympian Eleanor Simmonds named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2008 |date=15 December 2008 |publisher=British Paralympic Association |access-date=30 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609155232/http://www.paralympics.org.uk/show_news.asp?itemid=2489&itemTitle=Paralympian+Eleanor+Simmonds+named+BBC+Young+Sports+Personality+of+the+Year+2008.§ion=000100010006 |archive-date=9 June 2011}}

Simmonds was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.{{London Gazette|issue=58929|date=31 December 2008|page=22 |supp=y}} At 14 years old, she became the youngest person ever to have received this honour.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7804822.stm |title=Sport stars lead New Year Honours |work=BBC News |access-date=31 December 2008 |date=31 December 2008}} She received the honour from Queen Elizabeth II on 18 February 2009.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/7896367.stm |title=Swimmer Ellie receives MBE at 14 |work=BBC News |date=18 February 2009 |access-date=18 February 2009}} In March 2012, in the 200 m individual medley, she became the first swimmer to break a world record at London's Aquatics Centre. Her victory in a time of 3:08.14 broke her own previous best time by over half a second.{{cite news |title=Ellie Simmonds sets first Aquatics Centre world record |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/disability-sport/17307839 |date=8 March 2012 |last=Hope |first=Nick |work=BBC Sport |access-date=9 March 2012}}

In 2011, Simmonds won the award for 'Best British Sporting Performance for an Athlete with Disability' at the Jaguar Academy of Sport Annual Awards.{{cite web |last=Jaguar Academy of Sport |title=Jaguar Academy of Sport Annual Awards |url=http://www.jaguaracademyofsport.co.uk/news-and-events/events/2011/11/jaguar-academy-of-sport-2011-annual-awards.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528123453/http://www.jaguaracademyofsport.co.uk/news-and-events/events/2011/11/jaguar-academy-of-sport-2011-annual-awards.aspx |archive-date=28 May 2013}}

At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London Simmonds won four medals, two golds, a silver and a bronze. She took gold in the S6 400m with a new world record; gold in the S6 200m again with a new world record; silver in the S6 100m and a bronze in the S6 50m. In celebration of her two gold medals, two Royal Mail postboxes were painted gold in her honour, one in Aldridge and one in Swansea.

Simmonds was elevated to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to Paralympic sport.{{London Gazette |issue=60367 |date=29 December 2012 |page=24 |supp=y}}

= Sport =

Simmonds is a patron of the Dwarf Sports Association UK, along with swimmer Matthew Whorwood. Simmonds says of the charity, "It's a charity that supports people of short stature and helps them get into sport. One of the highlights of the year is the convention we have in the spring. There's everything from power lifting to athletics."{{cite news |last= Love |first=Martin|work=The Guardian |title=Ellie Simmonds: 'I've never been bullied. I'm just small' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jan/14/ellie-simmonds-this-much-i-know|date = 14 January 2017|access-date=7 August 2022}}

In January 2019, Simmonds was appointed to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee board.{{cite web|url=https://www.birmingham2022.com/2019/01/21/four-new-appointments-complete-birmingham-2022-commonwealth-games-board/|title=Four new appointments complete Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Board {{!}} Birmingham 2022|access-date=22 January 2019|archive-date=23 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123010316/https://www.birmingham2022.com/2019/01/21/four-new-appointments-complete-birmingham-2022-commonwealth-games-board/|url-status=dead}}