TURNER Nicole

Classification
S6, SB6, SM6 (IPC, 08 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Short stature (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019)

Impairment Details
She was born with hypochondroplasia. (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019)

General
STUDY BREAK
In 2019 she decided to take a break from her studies at high school to focus on preparing for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. "I should have been in fifth year [of high school] but it just wouldn't have been possible to get off school early and come to swimming at National Aquatic Centre [NAC] in Dublin, and do three hours. I just decided it was best to take off the year, focus on my swimming and then go back to school after Tokyo. I'm that type of person, I prioritise my sport over my education." (the42.ie, 24 Dec 2019, 07 Apr 2020)

FRIENDLY COMPETITION
She says she enjoys a friendly rivalry with British Para swimmer Ellie Robinson. "The person I admire the most in my own sport is my biggest rival but she is one of my best friends. Even though we race against each other we always have a laugh in the call room and around the pool and she is one of the people I admire the most." (irishsport.ie, 25 Oct 2019)

KEY EVENT
She says an important moment in her sporting career was the 2009 World Dwarf Games in Belfast, Ireland. "That was my first ever competition against people my own size, and it was there that I met my idol, who I'd looked up to for many years, [British Para swimmer] Ellie Simmonds. Seven years later, I was racing against her at the [2016] Paralympic Games in Rio." (rte.ie, 08 Mar 2019)

AMBASSADOR
She has served as an ambassador for the Olympic Federation of Ireland's Dare to Believe campaign, an initiative to promote the benefits of sport to Irish students. (leicesterexpress.ie, 12 Dec 2018)