MILLWARD Stephanie

Date of Birth: 20 Sep 1981

Age: 39

Gender: Female

Sport Class: S9

Place of birth: JEDDAH

Birth Country:

Saudi Arabia

Place of residence : CORSHAM

Residence Country:

Great Britain

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Swimming	Women's 100m Freestyle - S9
	Women's 100m Backstroke - S9	8
	Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay - 34 Pts GBR Great Britain	DSQ
	Women's 4x100m Medley Relay - 34 Points GBR Great Britain	4

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay - 34 Points Final	Finished
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 100m Backstroke - S9 Heat 2	Finished
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 100m Backstroke - S9 Final	Finished
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 100m Freestyle - S9 Heat 2	Finished
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 4x100m Medley Relay - 34 Points Final	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
1	100m Backstroke - S8	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	1:13.02
1	4x100m Medley Relay - 34 Points	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	4:45.23
2	200m Individual Medley - SM8	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	2:43.03
2	400m Freestyle - S9	2012	London, GBR	4:40.01
2	100m Backstroke - S9	2012	London, GBR	1:11.07
2	200m Individual Medley - SM9	2012	London, GBR	2:36.21
2	4x100m Medley Relay - 34 Points	2012	London, GBR	4:53.98
3	100m Freestyle - S8	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	1:05.16
3	400m Freestyle - S8	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	4:49.49
3	4x100m Freestyle Relay - 34 Points	2012	London, GBR	4:24.71
4	4x100m Freestyle Relay - 34 Points	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	4:26.95
4	100m Backstroke - S9	2008	Beijing, CHN	1:14.13
5	50m Freestyle - S8	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	30.73
5	100m Butterfly - S9	2012	London, GBR	1:12.01
5	100m Freestyle - S9	2008	Beijing, CHN	1:04.52
7	50m Freestyle - S9	2008	Beijing, CHN	30.45
13	100m Butterfly - S9	2008	Beijing, CHN	1:15.62
World Championships
1	4x100m Freestyle Relay - 34 Points	2019	London, GBR	4:23.86
1	4x100m Medley Relay - 34 Points	2019	London, GBR	4:36.31
1	100m Freestyle - S9	2013	Montreal, QC, CAN	1:04.00
1	100m Backstroke - S9	2013	Montreal, QC, CAN	1:10.56
1	4x100m Freestyle Relay - 34 Points	2013	Montreal, QC, CAN	4:27.95
1	4x100m Medley Relay - 34 Points	2013	Montreal, QC, CAN	4:46.21
2	200m Individual Medley - SM9	2013	Montreal, QC, CAN	2:40.29
2	100m Freestyle - S9	2010	Eindhoven, NED	1:03.85
2	400m Freestyle - S9	2010	Eindhoven, NED	4:47.04
2	100m Backstroke - S9	2010	Eindhoven, NED	1:10.31
2	4x100m Freestyle Relay - 34 Points	2010	Eindhoven, NED	4:29.49
2	4x100m Medley Relay - 34 Points	2010	Eindhoven, NED	5:00.93
3	100m Butterfly - S9	2010	Eindhoven, NED	1:11.07
4	100m Backstroke - S9	2019	London, GBR	1:13.55
8	100m Freestyle - S9	2019	London, GBR	1:05.80
Commonwealth Games
2	100m Freestyle - S9	2010	Delhi, IND	1:03.69
2	100m Butterfly - S9	2010	Delhi, IND	1:13.11
3	50m Freestyle - S9	2010	Delhi, IND	29.69
European Championships
3	100m Backstroke - S9	2020	Funchal, POR	1:14.18
6	100m Freestyle - S9	2020	Funchal, POR	1:07.59
6	100m Breaststroke - SB8	2020	Funchal, POR	2:12.90
8	50m Freestyle - S9	2020	Funchal, POR	31.75

Steph (Athlete, 23 Jul 2010)

Riding horses, gardening. (Facebook page, 13 Dec 2019; britishswimming.org, 11 Nov 2020)

Occupation:

Motivational Speaker, Student

Husband Adrian McHugh

Languages spoken:

French, German, Spanish, English

Team Bath Aquae Sulis [Great Britain]

Other sports:

She competed in able-bodied swimming and trained with the Great Britain squad in the build-up to the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. (Athlete, 23 Jul 2010)

In July 2017 she sustained a shoulder injury. She recovered in time to compete at the 2017 British Championships in Sheffield, England, which took place later in the same month. (gazetteandherald.co.uk, 03 Aug 2017)

She did not make the national squad for the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, after a virus affected her performances in the build-up to the event. (bathchronicle.co.uk, 30 Mar 2015)

She began swimming at age four in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and took up Para swimming in late 2007. (aboutms.co.uk, 29 Jan 2010; bbc.co.uk, 09 Dec 2009)

During her childhood she lived in Saudi Arabia with her family, and as the heat was so intense her mother taught Stephanie and her sibling to swim. When the family returned to the United Kingdom they all joined Corsham ASC in Wiltshire, England. She spent almost 10 years away from competitive swimming after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but her husband Adrian inspired her to return to the sport. (thetelegraphandargus.co.uk, 19 Oct 2014; aboutms.co.uk, 29 Jan 2010; bbc.co.uk, 09 Dec 2009)

To win a medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (edinburghnews.scotsman.com, 24 Apr 2019; manchestereveningnews.co.uk, 26 Apr 2019)

In addition to her work in the pool, she goes to the gym three times a week. She also incorporates horse riding and yoga into her training programme. (manchestereveningnews.co.uk, 26 Apr 2019)

British swimmer Mark Foster. (British Swimming, 19 Aug 2010)

Her husband Adrian McHugh, and her mother. (indigo-turtle.co.uk, 22 Nov 2013)

She practises meditation each morning. "It's something I took up for this four-year cycle towards Tokyo [the 2020 Paralympic Games]. I find it very beneficial, because it puts your head in the right place." (britishswimming.org, 11 Nov 2020)

Philosophy:

"Swimming has helped me get my life back. In fact, it has given me a life. If I walk too far, I get tired and I fall and I start tripping over, but I don't need to walk when I am swimming. I have no trouble in the water. It is a safe thing for me." (mirror.co.uk, 18 Apr 2012)

In 2018 she was named South West Para Swimmer of the Year by Swim England South West. (gazetteandherald.co.uk, 27 Mar 2018; somersetasa.org, 01 Jun 2018; Instagram profile, 04 Jul 2018)

In February 2017 a swimming pool in Corsham, England, was renamed the Stephanie Millward MBE Swimming Pool. (wiltshire.gov.uk, 17 Feb 2017)

She was named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2017 New Year's Honours list. (bbc.com, 31 Dec 2016)

In 2013 she received the freedom of Corsham, England. (thisisbath.co.uk, 26 Feb 2013)

General Interest

Classification
S9, SB8, SM9 (IPC, 24 Feb 2021)

Impairment Details
She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 17. The condition affects her walking, vision, balance and coordination. (Athlete, 23 Jul 2010; aboutms.co.uk, 29 Jan 2010)

General
FUTURE PLANS
She intends to retire from competitive Para swimming after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. She works part-time as a bookkeeper and has studied to pursue a career in accounting. "I love numbers. Numbers are good, because with numbers, you always get a correct answer. I hope accounting will become my second career when I retire from swimming." (britishswimming.org, 11 Nov 2020; training-link.co.uk, 16 Nov 2018)

INSPIRATION TO RETURN TO THE SPORT
She stopped swimming after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and also failed her final high school exams, gained weight and had depression. She was initially unwilling to return to the pool as it reminded her of what she had lost, but gradually began swimming as light exercise. She was then asked to help teach someone to swim as part of their triathlon training. Her pupil was Adrian McHugh, who she would go on to marry, and he was the motivation for her to take up Para swimming. "He inspired me and gave me belief. Before then I had tried to get in the pool a few times but then I'd struggle to get out. Just walking to the changing room was really hard. He gave me a goal." (thetelegraphandargus.co.uk, 19 Oct 2014; bathchronicle.co.uk, 25 Aug 2012; mirror.co.uk, 18 Apr 2012; britishswimming.org, 29 Jan 2010; bbc.co.uk, 31 Dec 2009)

AUTHOR
She released an autobiography titled 'Paying the Price' in November 2014. The book is an account of how she returned to international swimming after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 17. (bathchronicle.co.uk, 11 Nov 2014)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She has served as an ambassador for the charities MS Society UK, Wiltshire Air Ambulance and the Childhood Tumour Trust. In 2020 she pledged to swim 100 kilometres as part of MS Society UK's '100k Your Way' fundraiser, hoping to achieve the feat in nine weeks. (Twitter profile, 04 Feb 2021; charitytoday.co.uk, 21 Sep 2020)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event
DSQ:: Disqualified

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