Keep it Cole: Ellie Cole out to get the better of Natalie de Tout

Nineteen-year-old Ellie Cole’s enthusiasm is infectious. When the Australian Paralympian is seen hanging out at the international zone of the Village, sharing her stories with fellow athletes, it is easy to forget the mess the Games has been involved in.

“I have had a great time so far. You know I never thought everything would be so good here,” she says, picking up a couple of merchandises from the souvenir shop here.

Ellie, one of the youngest members of the Australian contingent, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of three and had to undergo chemotherapy. When the treatment didn’t cure her completely, Ellie’s parents were left with no choice but to have her right leg amputated.

“It’s OK once you get the hang of it. It has given me the confidence to face the world, you know. People stare at me all the time but I have learnt to live with it,” she says.

While her disability has got her into trouble sometimes — she once threw her leg at a boy who was annoying her when she was seven — it has made her pretty determined.

And she believes that “it is better to have a sore neck from aiming too high than a hunch back from aiming too low”.

“I took up swimming as a part of my rehab program. It was tough to adjust initially but I gradually developed a liking for the sport. Soon, I was winning and ended up representing my country,” Ellie says.

She burst onto the scene at the Beijing Games, winning silver in 100m butterfly and bronze medals in 400m freestyle and 100m backstroke.

“It is funny because I almost retired from professional swimming just two weeks before the Games. I was 16 then and all my friends went out partying and stuff. And here I was, attending the national camp, missing out on all the fun. Then I just decided to take part in Beijing and quit. But that experience changed my attitude. More so because I won three medals there,” she recalls.

Like many of the international athletes, Ellie admits she did have a rethink about coming to New Delhi for the Games, but said it was a “risk worth taking”. “I had my doubts when the bridge fell and they found a cobra, but then I decided to go ahead. I mean there is no point sitting at home and watching it on TV only to regret the decision later,” she says.

Now that she is here, she has just one aim: To defeat South Africa’s world champion Natalie de Tout. “I think it’s about time I did that. I have spent months and months in training just to get the better of her.”