English swimmer wins Commonwealth Games gold 6 months after leg amputation
Getty/Ian MacNicol
- English para-swimmer Alice Tai had her right leg amputated in January.
- On Sunday, she won Commonwealth Games gold.
- "I've had so much to learn," said the 23-year-old.
English para-swimmer Alice Tai won gold at the Commonwealth Games around half a year after having her leg amputated.
The 23-year-old won the S8 100 meter backstroke event at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre in Birmingham on Sunday.
"I didn't think I would be able to race this season," Tai said after her victory. "I'm so grateful that Team England let me come here and compete."
Tai is a seven-time World Championship gold medalist and Paralympic gold medalist. She was born with club foot.
In January, she opted to have her right leg amputated from below the knee due to increasing pain and discomfort.
After spending five months relearning how to be an elite swimmer, she made her international return at the Para-swimming World Championships in Madeira in June, where she won silver in the S8 100 meter freestyle.
—Alice Tai PLY MBE (@alice__tai) January 19, 2022
"I've had so much to learn," she said. "I had to strip all my strokes back to the basics to make sure I am even in the water."
Tai said she now believes she can become a better swimmer than before.
"My start can be better, but we don't know how I can balance best on the blocks and also my stroke into the turn keeps changing as I get fitter.
"I won relay gold in Rio which is awesome but I really want an individual title in Paris in 2024."