Ellie Cole becomes children's book author

Growing up in 1990s Australia, Ellie Cole loved reading books but never saw herself depicted in the fictional characters.

Australia’s most decorated female Paralympian was three years old when her right leg was amputated above the knee because of cancer.

As a child, she recalls other kids pointing out her differences to their parents and “the reaction would always be quite negative”.

Her debut children’s book, Felix and His Fantastic Friends, hopes to turn the tables on stigma around disability by encouraging curiosity and respectful conversations.

“I really wanted to make that narrative as positive as I can and just to teach kids about how to approach somebody that's different to them and how you can include everybody in play,” the six-time Paralympic champion told the IPC.

She said it’s a book for every child and “a reminder that they belong, just as they are”.

Cole wrote Felix and his Fantastic Friends to encourage curiosity and respectful conversations around disability. @Ellie Cole

Felix and his Fantastic Friends

The story follows Felix, a character named after her son, who learns about disabilities as he makes new friends in the playground.

Some of the characters are inspired by Para athletes she met competing at four Paralympics Games – Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

The idea for the book came when she was chatting to a fellow contestant in the South African jungle while filming the reality television show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

“I told her that I had a son, he was only five weeks old at that time. But I knew that he was going to go to school one day, and I was scared that kids that he went to school with are going to point out that his mum was a little bit different in the fact that I have a disability,” Cole said.

“I began to think that maybe that necessarily wasn't something to be too scared about but something that he should be actually really proud about, particularly what I've been able to achieve in the Paralympic space.”

Cole competed at four Paralympic Games - Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. @Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Creating change one page at a time

The book’s message is already touching readers' hearts and creating hope.

At a Sydney prosthetic clinic a couple of weeks ago, Cole gave a copy to a mother and her daughter – a three-year-old cancer survivor, who was there for her first leg fitting.

The encounter was a pinch yourself moment for Cole, who had a similar cancer and amputation at the same age as the little girl.

“I remember my mum telling me that she was petrified looking into my future,” Cole said.

As she told the story of her Paralympic journey, swimming for Australia and her strong and powerful teammates, Cole watched a change wash over the mother.

“I'm just getting goosebumps thinking about it. To see her being so hopeful for her daughter's future,” Cole said.

“It was really nice to be able to sit there and to be able to give her mum a completely different message to the message that my parents were being given when I was losing my leg.”

“I think it's one of those moments that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life.”

Celebrating an incredible career

Cole won six gold medals and had 17 Paralympic podium finishes before calling time on her Paralympic career after Tokyo 2020.

With six gold medals, Cole is Australia's most decorated female Paralympian. @Bob Martin for OIS/IOC

Cole says that one of her proudest moments was when Australian Paralympians were finally granted the same medal bonuses as their Olympic counterparts, something she had been campaigning for since Beijing 2008. Cole remembers being in the Athletes Village at Tokyo 2020 with teen swimming sensation Izzy Vincent when she thought about what this meant for the next generation of Paralympians.

“I was just looking at her, thinking that her life as a Paralympian was going to be very different to my own... she was like, seen by a whole country at the age of 15,” Cole said.

“It was amazing to walk away from that experience knowing that those next Paralympians that are coming through... it's going to be a very different experience with the way that they're supported by our sports system here in Australia. I remember thinking that's worth way more than any gold medal.”

From the pool to the TV studio

Since retiring from the pool, Cole has dived headfirst into a new role as a TV sports presenter.

“I always joke that when I had my face in the water for five to six hours a day, I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to talking,” Cole said.

Cole, right, and fellow Paralympian Ellie Simmonds crossed paths at the Olympic Games in Paris. @Ellie Cole

Last year, she was poolside reporting at the Olympic Games in Paris for Australia’s Nine Network.

Cole said highlights included bumping into old friends such as retired British Para swimmer Ellie Simmonds, who was two doors down in the mixed zone reporting for Eurosport.

Then she jetted home to host Nine’s official prime time telecast of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games from a Sydney studio, alongside veteran sports reporter James Bracey.

“It was super, super exciting to be able to sit next to him, with all of my experience as a Paralympian and to teach him about what it means to actually be a Paralympian, how special it is,” she said. “I was watching him over a 12-day period, absolutely fall in love with the whole movement.”

Wheelchair tennis legend Dylan Alcott, left, and Cole visited the Eiffel Tower during the Games. @Ellie Cole

The story continues

So what’s next for this overachiever-retired-swimming-superstar-turned-TV-sports-reporter-turned-author?

Cole is pumped for the 2032 Paralympic Games in Brisbane, Australia, and is helping with preparations as a Paralympics Australia board member.

“I think people can relate a lot more to Paralympians because at the end of the day, Paralympians aren't, you know, we're not genetically gifted... You watch the Olympians, and they are all six foot five, 80 per cent fast twitch muscle fibres. We’re never going to be like that.”

“We've come across a really, really big hardship in our life... and we've just gotten to the other side of that and become the best human that we possibly can be. I think that's what the athletes in Brisbane 2032 are going to leave Australia with, that kind of sentiment that anyone can be a Paralympian in a kind of weird way, in terms of the outlook that you have on life.”

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