We're calling it now: Ella Pardy is on track to become a household name here in Australia.
Ella will be representing Australia at the Paralympics in Paris, which will be her third Games (yes, you read that right). At her first ever Paralympics in Rio she took out bronze, then went on to compete at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. She's only continuing to build momentum, and we can't wait to see her hit the track in Paris. Her speciality event is the T38 100M, but she also competes in the 200M and long jump. Seriously, what can't this woman do?
So, how did she end up in Para-athletics from such a young age?
"I slept three hours broken sleep at night till I was 14 years old. My mum had me doing all kinds of sports to try and wear me out so I would sleep, which didn't work," Ella tells Missing Perspectives. "I was good at lots of sports like swimming, horse-riding, and ice skating.There was no real early intervention then, so sport was my intervention."
She says that she's always been "obsessed" with the Olympic and Paralympic Opening and Closing ceremonies. "I got to hold the Sydney 2000 torch, fell in love with Cathy Freeman and the energy and emotion. It wasn't a choice - it just happened and became a way of life!"
She made her international debut at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, but emphasises that when she started out, there was "no pathway as there is now."
"I competed at the Shanghai Summer Games with Special Olympics for people with intellectual disabilities in 2007. This was the year before Beijing when I was 16. It was an incredible opportunity so young and the most massive Opening Ceremony I have been to with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Colin Farrell, Placido Domingo, and lots of massive sports stars like Yao Ming and Michelle Kwan, to name a few," she says."
She later went on to compete wit INAS (now known as Virtus), International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability - which was through Athletics Australia, World Champs in Liberec Czech Republic in 2009, World Champs Liguria, Italy in 2011. I finished off with SO in Athens, Greece - and got to see Stevie Wonder at the Opening Ceremony in the true Olympic Stadium!"
She sadly missed out on the London 2012 Paralympics because they removed the T20 events. "So once I was reclassified as I have cerebral palsy from birth as well, I was selected for Glasgow Comm Games," she says.
Now, she's gearing up for her third Paralympics.
"I feel so honoured every single time I represent Australia. Paris will be my 3rd Paralympics and I'm head over heels! Putting on the green and gold fills me with so much pride... goosebumps! I'm excited that I may inspire the next generation, as I once was."