KEANE Ellen

Classification
S9, SB8, SM9 (IPC, 08 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (reach.org.uk, 08 Dec 2008)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019)

Impairment Details
She was born without her left arm below the elbow. (Ireland Team Guide, 2018)

General
YOUNG PARALYMPIC DEBUT
She says that when she made her Paralympic debut at age 13 at the 2008 Games in Beijing, she did not completely understand the magnitude of the occasion until she raced against one of her idols, South African swimmer Natalie du Toit. "I didn't fully appreciate it at the time, how bizarre it was being that young at a Paralympic Games because no one treated me any differently. The only time I remember being kind of a bit afraid and overwhelmed was at my first or second race. I was in the same heat as Natalie du Toit, my idol. She had just competed in the Beijing Olympics as well as the Paralympics and she was twice the size of me, and here's me, the little tiny yolk. That's the only time I remember feeling my age. Things that just don't affect you as much when you're young because you're just kind of living in the moment and you don't worry about things and I think that's something that I wish I still had." (paralympic.org, 16 Oct 2020)

IMPACT OF SPORT
She says that swimming was important in helping her overcome insecurities about her impairment. "People might be insecure about their hair colour or their weight or things they think they can work on whereas I can never change that I have got one arm. I did shy away from it, I hid my arm, I became really insecure and it was a really hard time in my life. It was only really because of sport that I realised I'm actually capable of being happy in my body. Why can't I be happy in my body outside of the pool? That's where it took a bit of courage to choose to embrace my arm. I used to hide my arm in sleeves and it took till I was in college and until I was 19 to be like, 'I'm not going to wear my coat today and pretend that it's a completely normal thing for me to do'. But when I did that, I realised that the whole world didn't revolve around me and my arm and people really don't care that much. So when I did that, I got the confidence to do it every day and then it just became my norm." (punditarena.com, 18 Sep 2020)

At age 13 years and 154 days she became the youngest Irish athlete to compete at a Paralympic Games when she took part in the 2008 Games in Beijing. (paralympics.ie, 04 Jul 2018; realwire.com, 03 Apr 2019; SportsDeskOnline, 18 Mar 2020)