Category: Wheelchair User

Finding Pride in My Disability

by Sophie, posted in Adaptive Swimming, challenge, chronic illness, chronic pain, Disability Swimming, Disabled, Life in a wheelchair, Living with a Disability, marathon swim, Mental Health, open water, Open Water Swimming, Outdoor Swimming, psychology, Wheelchair User

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.

Accessibility without Assumptions

by Sophie, posted in Disability Swimming, Disabled, Life in a wheelchair, Living with a Disability, Open Water Swimming, safety, Training, Wheelchair User

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

The Lasting Impact of Discrimination

by Sophie, posted in Adaptive Swimming, chronic illness, chronic pain, Disability Swimming, Disabled, Life in a wheelchair, Living with a Disability, Wheelchair User

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

Swimathon Weekend in Brighton

by Sophie, posted in challenge, chronic illness, Disabled, Events, friends, Open Water Swimming, Outdoor Swimming, Wheelchair User

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

A wheely good day out…

by Sophie, posted in Disabled, friends, Open Water Swimming, Outdoor Swimming, Training, Wheelchair User

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…

UltraSwim33.3 – Day 4 & The Journey Home

by Sophie, posted in Adaptive Swimming, challenge, chronic pain, Disabled, Events, Open Water Swimming, Outdoor Swimming, UltraSwim 33.3, Wheelchair User

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

The Journey

by Sophie, posted in challenge, Disabled, Events, Living with a Disability, Open Water Swimming, UltraSwim 33.3, Wheelchair User

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

I’ve lost count of what week of training it is…

by Sophie, posted in Adaptive Swimming, Bristol Channel Training, chronic illness, coaching, Disability Swimming, friends, Living with a Disability, open water, Open Water Swimming, Outdoor Swimming, Wheelchair User, winter swimming

I started the week strong with an open water swim in Hampton, followed by the 4th Bars and Bells session where we learnt all the different exercises that are possible with Kettle Bells. Monday night was then a pretty intense coaching session for BRJ. I think most people's response when they saw the set on … Continue reading I’ve lost count of what week of training it is…

Recovery Week/Weekend Away

by Sophie, posted in Bristol Channel Training, Disabled, Life in a wheelchair, Living with a Disability, Open Water Swimming, Wheelchair User

No training blog this week simply because I didn't do much training. On Monday it was the Bars and Bells session and this week we added some weights to the bars we had been lifting and after the session I did a short cardio round in the gym too. Tuesday was my only other training … Continue reading Recovery Week/Weekend Away

One good, One bad.

by Sophie, posted in Adaptive Swimming, Disability Swimming, Disabled, Events, friends, Living with a Disability, open water, Open Water Swimming, outdoor swimmer, Outdoor Swimming, Wheelchair User

Last year I had a disastrous swim event experience, I desperately wanted to share it with people at the time to highlight how NOT to treat those with disabilities but at the time I was so angry that I knew the blog wouldn’t be constructive or helpful to anyone, so I waited. Since then, I … Continue reading One good, One bad.