Will Ellard is eyeing a podium finish in his Paralympics debut. GETTY IMAGES

Team GB’s Will Ellard, following a successful international debut in 2023, is in Paris to compete in the S14 intellectually impaired classification in swimming. After winning three medals in his breakout year, he hopes to secure his first Paralympic medal.

18-year-old Ellard is competing in five para-swimming events at the Paralympic Games; S14 100m butterfly, 200m freestyle, mixed 4x100m freestyle relay, the 200m medley and the 100m backstroke.



His parents, Lorna and Dave Ellard, said their son qualifying was an "unbelievable achievement".

"It feels a little bit surreal at the moment but easier now we're in Paris, with Will, knowing that we're quite close to him. "We just can't believe he's got this far … It's an unbelievable achievement, he's very lucky but he's very lucky through dedication and years and years of hard work,” Mr Ellard told BBC Radio.

According to his parents, Ellard was not a "natural" swimmer when he first got into the swimming pool at a very young age. However, he came to love it and began swimming for the Beccles Kingfishers Swimming Club before moving to St Felix Swimming Club in Southwold where he remains.

"The trials for the World Championships in Manchester was my first ever para-meet so I went there and I still didn’t know what to really expect with para swimming. A week later, I got selected for my first team, and I didn’t realise how good para swimming would be. There’s nothing quite like it really, it’s so inclusive and just out of this world, really," Ellard told Swimming.org in an interview. 



Ellard's coach, Nick Thompson, said the road to the Paralympics had been "long" but the swimmer had "done a great job to qualify".

"He's done some performances that put him in a really good place. Last year he won medals at the World Championships, that was his first international meet. He's raced internationally for Great Britain a few times this year, and it's all just that exposure to international competition racing on the biggest stages," Thompson said. 

Ellard achieved multiple Paralympic nomination times at the 2024 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships to secure his berth in Paris, where he also equalled the men’s S14 200m freestyle world record.

"Going to my first world champs in Manchester definitely helped me prepare for this. The main priority was obviously LA initially, so this it’s sort of like a bonus, and this team’s quite special so hopefully more to come. I’m world champion and European champion now. So next thing is, hopefully to be a Paralympic champion,” Ellard said.