“I did shy away from it, I hid my arm, I became really insecure and it was a really hard time in my life”

At 13, most kids wouldn't even know how to swim.

At 13, Ellen Keane was swimming at the Beijing Paralympics. At 25, the Dubliner is now preparing for her 4th Olympic games and in almost 15 years of competition, she's learned plenty. Natural talent and a burning desire brought her to Beijing and London, years of dedication lifted her to the podium by Rio 2016, for her first Paralympic medal. Swimming has been good to her. Born with no arm below her left elbow, for years, Keane literally hid away from this fact. She'd wear coats, show only her right hand side, always have long sleeves. But in the swimming pool at least, there was sweet release. Keane could be herself, as the thrill and exhilaration of racing and competition took over. In the pool, she was happy and one day she asked herself the question, 'Why can’t I be happy in my body outside of the pool?' [caption id="attachment_216276" align="alignnone" width="1400"] 15 September 2019: Ellen Keane of Ireland after competing in the final of the Women's 100m Breaststroke during day seven of the World Para Swimming Championships 2019 at London Aquatic Centre in London, England. Photo by Tino Henschel/Sportsfile[/caption]

"It was only really because of sport that I realised I’m actually capable of being happy in my body," says Allianz ambassador Keane.

"All kids really care about is being happy and having fun. They don’t see the difference in people and they don’t see the difference in themselves.

"It was only when I was a teenager that I began to notice it. It’s a shame, it’s a shame that we all go through this. It was harder for me than most people because I couldn’t change. People might be insecure about their hair colour or their weight or things they think they can work on whereas I can never change that I have got one arm.

"Because there was no one like me in the media or representing what I look like, I just became more of an object to be stared at because it was something that people had never seen before.

"That’s why it’s so important to me to be in the media or use my profile as much as I can because if I can change just one kid’s life or make them feel a little bit more confident in their body than I was at their age, then I have done my job."

Keane is doing a fine job. From that day forward, she hasn't looked back.

https://twitter.com/keane_ellen/status/1179882091707658240

"That’s where it took a bit of courage to choose to embrace my arm.

"The thing about sport is when you’re in it, you’re in it, you don’t care what’s going on around you, you don’t care about other people or any of that. I just cared about swimming or racing hard.

"I did shy away from it, I hid my arm, I became really insecure and it was a really hard time in my life.

"But I realised that the whole world didn’t revolve around me and my arm and people really don’t care that much. So when I did that, I got the confidence to do it every day and then it just became my norm.

"The nicest thing about it is that I get it from kids with disabilities, but I also get it from kids without disabilities so it’s really nice to know that I’m not just having an effect on people specifically like me.

"I would get a lot of messages on Instagram from parents of kids with arms similar to mine and videos of them doing my little arm pose. I love seeing that, I think that’s really cool..."

The lock-down was a challenge for the swimmer, who had no pool access for months but as is her wont, Keane didn't sit down feeling sorry for herself.

"I was able to get a bike and a turbo trainer before lock-down happened so I was doing stationary cycling. I was able to get weights before lock-down too to do my gym sessions in the garden. I think it was only one of the days I was caught out in the rain, we got a gazebo to cover it. But cycling’s awful, anyone who thinks swimming is hard, cycling is disgusting, you get so sweaty. Even outside with the wind getting to me, I was roasting. We had proper sessions do you know, one minute at this pace, two at this pace. "Because I’m one of the older ones on the squad, I think it was important for me to be as honest as possible as in, saying if it was a tough week or saying if it was tough to do the training then so that the younger guys felt like they could talk about it then. My teammates were all just so honest and supportive and that made it easier to help each other..." And now all roads lead to Tokyo... [caption id="attachment_216275" align="alignnone" width="1000"] At the launch of Allianz’s Courage Chronicles Video Series is Allianz brand ambassador and Paralympic bronze medallist Ellen Keane. Allianz in Ireland have been proud sponsors of Paralympics Ireland since 2010 and is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion across the sporting community. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile[/caption]