Ellie Simmonds is in same league as fellow British greats Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Chris Hoy, says Chris Furber
Swimming chief Chris Furber believes Ellie Simmonds’ competitive edge should rank her alongside Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Chris Hoy in the top bracket of British sports stars.
Simmonds is in action on day three when she races in the S6 50m freestyle, her first of five events in Rio.
Ever since she won two gold medals aged 13 in Beijing and then a further two at London 2012, she has become a nationwide heroine, attracting plenty of sponsors and celebrity invitations.
Before the Games, she even flew to Africa to be filmed swimming with dolphins.
However, Furber, the British Para-Swimming national performance director, has praised her for maintaining the hunger to continue competing despite all the celebrity endorsements.
He said: “Ellie is a winner. She wants to go out there and do the best she can. There has been that adjustment, from the early part of her career, where success came easier and perhaps the work was not required. Now, though, she is in a highly competitive class and she has adapted.
“She has achieved everything she could in the sport. She could have easily walked away but it is a mark of her personality that she is desperate to take back even more golds.
"That is what defines those super-elite athletes: that constant ability to win more and more.
“The likes of Steve Redgrave, Chris Hoy and Sarah Storey all have that mentality.”
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