Ellie Challis

Ellie Challis was the youngest member of ParalympicsGB in Tokyo where she won a silver medal in the S3 50m backstroke at the age of 17. Three years later at Paris 2024 she converted silver to gold with a lifetime best of 53.56 seconds.

The young Clacton-on-Sea swimmer burst onto the scene in 2017, breaking the British SB2 50m Breaststroke record that had stood since 1992, before becoming the world record holder in the event two years later.

Challis broke one World and two European records at the 2019 British Para-Swimming International Meet in Glasgow to secure her place at the World Para Swimming Championships the same year, before going on to clinch her first international medal in that event.

She secured bronze in the S3 50m Backstroke in London, as well as claiming top-10 finishes in the SB3 50m Breaststroke, SM4 150m Individual Medley and SM5 50m Butterfly.

At the 2022 World Championships in Madeira, Ellie claimed her first world title in the SB2 50m breaststroke as well as silver medals in the S3 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 50m backstroke.

She retained the gold medal in the SB2 50m breaststroke one year later at the 2023 World Championships in Manchester as well as adding two more golds and two silvers.

Earlier in 2024 Ellie returned from the Europeans in Portugal with gold in the 50m backstroke and two silvers in the 50m and 100m freestyle events.

Away from the pool, Ellie is a keen snowboarder and loves to bake. She keeps in touch with London’s St.Mary’s hospital and the physician that saved her life when she contracted meningitis as a newborn baby.

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