One hundred years ago today, on 6 August 1926, a 19‑year‑old woman stepped into the cold water at Cape Gris‑Nez with a fire in her chest that no tide could extinguish. Her name was Gertrude Ederle, and by the time she reached Kingsdown in Deal, she had not only become the first woman to swim … Continue reading 100 Years of Courage
For a long time, I felt ashamed of my disability. Now, I’m learning to see it as a source of resilience, community, and pride. This post shares how that shift happened.
I wrote a blog around discrimination recently (https://sophie-adaptive-athlete.com/2026/05/08/the-lasting-impact-of-discrimination/) that, in someways came out of no where. In reality, behind closed doors I have been facing many challenges of being judged and told what I can and can't do due to my disabilities.There is a course that I wanted to do to further my lifeguarding qualifications. … Continue reading Accessibility without Assumptions
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about discrimination and just how often it happens. For so many disabled people, it isn’t a rare occurrence or a one-off bad experience; it can be daily life. It happens in obvious ways, subtle ways and sometimes in moments you would never expect. It has made me reflect on … Continue reading The Lasting Impact of Discrimination
I’ve come to believe that things happen when they’re meant to. That we meet the right people at the right time, in ways we don’t expect. That’s exactly what happened the day I met Sophie Durlacher. It was a typical open water session with The Cambridge Swimming Company. I was giving the safety briefing to … Continue reading Team Sophie: A Swim of Strength, Spirit, and Swearing!
After being left stranded on a platform in London I was anxious about travelling solo through London but I didn't have a choice. I didn't need to be in Brighton till 3pm so thankfully it wasn't an early train. I had a seamless journey, with no issues, building my confidence a little bit on travelling … Continue reading Swimathon Weekend in Brighton
For once, it wasn't a ridiculously early start for our adventure to London, we met at just gone 8am at the train station, there were only 2 of us going to celebrate International Womans Day. I had booked assistance in advance. We were helped onto the train and on our way to the Love Open … Continue reading A wheely good day out…
I made it to the final day and was still able to move and stand! Gosh, I was utterly exhausted and in a lot of pain! Each day got harder to get up but actually on the final day, a small part of me was full of beans and raring to go because I was … Continue reading UltraSwim33.3 – Day 4 & The Journey Home
Thankfully it wasn't an early start but it was something new for me, my anxiety was high, my mind racing and me constantly trying not to panic! My mum drove me to the train station to get the train to Gatwick Airport where I was meeting my sister. It was the first time I had … Continue reading The Journey
Last year when I was training for the English Channel I attended the Tusker swim camp in Porthcawl, Wales. It was a Bristol Channel swim camp which seemed odd to many but made sense to me as I knew my next swim was going to be Bristol. Plus, the Bristol Channel swim camp was much … Continue reading Wales Training May/June 2024
