Ellie Cole OAM after losing her right leg to cancer at age 3, in 2021 became Australia’s most decorated female Paralympic athlete, with a record-breaking 17 Paralympic medals and OAM to her name.

Overcoming injuries and adversity, Ellie has risen to prolific heights and in recognition was honoured as the flagbearer at the Tokyo 2020 Closing Ceremony.

Ellie is raw and real, funny and wonderfully charismatic, refreshingly humble and completely unaware of the true inspiration she is. As an accomplished speaker, she finds ways to connect with a variety of different audiences; whether students, corporate teams or senior boards. Ellie is incredibly passionate about the subject of diversity and inclusion, leveraging her strong platform as an athlete to highlight important causes like #WeThe15 – a movement that endeavours for disability visibility and representation.

In 2020, Ellie featured in the Netflix original film, Rising Phoenix – a documentary that explores global understanding of disability and the excellence that is encouraged by the Paralympic Games. No stranger to the stage or screen, Ellie has been instrumental in a number of global initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion – starring in WOWOW Japan’s WHO I Am series, being invited to speak at the Cannes Lions in 2019 on the subject of diversity and inclusion not only in sport but in life, and closer to home partnering with her sponsors to deliver greater awareness of and support for the Paralympic movement and the disability community.

She has a strong and engaged social following and is well loved by the media both here and abroad. She has appeared in countless magazines and broadcast programs across a variety of networks spanning the 7 network, the ABC, SBS, 9 and 10 and most recently was featured on the cover of the Womens’ Health August 2021 issue – which went on to win Magazine Cover of the Year at the recent Mumbrella Publish Awards and was crowned Maxim’s No. 1 on their Hot 100 List for 2021.

It is Ellie’s charisma and her unrivalled sense of humour that make her truly magnetic. She tells her inspiring story with her customary humility, never for a second dwelling on the odds she has beaten to be where she is today.