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An athlete who needs little introduction, Ellen Keane became Ireland’s youngest ever athlete when she swam in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, and has remained at the top of her game ever since, winning gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Though it’s been a career filled with highlights and record breaking achievements, Paris 2024 will be her swan song, stepping back to pursue a career in media and continue to stand tall as a disability advocate.
A role model for many and a hugely inspiring sportswoman, Ellen talks candidly about feeling underrepresented growing up, finding power in her sense of self, and learning to understand herself more after being diagnosed with ADHD.
What is your earliest sporting memory?
You would think that my earliest sporting memory is swimming, but it’s actually from a running race during a sports day in primary school! I came second or third, and I remember winning a medal and being very happy with myself.
How did you become involved in competitive swimming?
I was really young when it happened, which seems to be a theme with swimming. There’s this charity called Reach, which is for kids with upper limb differences and they had a monthly magazine that would come out. They had this article about a Paralympic swimmer whose mom was the manager of the Irish Paralympic swim team, and she had an arm just like mine. My dad managed to get in contact with her and found out that there was a disability competition in Northern Ireland that was at a grassroots level of kids to come and try things out and have fun. When I was seven or eight, I went along to that and I ended up having a lot of fun and figured out that I loved racing and the control of it all, and from there I joined a local swim club and have been swimming ever since!
That’s why I take my responsibility as a role model for kids in terms of being an athlete so seriously. Visibility means that kids get to see it, so for me, it’s all about taking every opportunity to put your story out there, you never know who you’re going to inspire.
What message would you like to share with young women and girls interested in pursuing a career as an athlete?
I think patience is the key. To really excel in sport, hard work will outwin talent when talent doesn’t work hard. It’s all about doing all the little things you don’t want to do, all the little warmups and rehabs and prehabs — all the tiny little things that you don’t think are making any difference are what will set you apart in the long run. Do all the little things well, and the bigger things will be easier.
Your sporting career has had many highlights, but what is your proudest moment so far?
I think the biggest moment would have been winning the gold medal in Tokyo, but I think I was so proud in 2018 when we brought our European Championships to Dublin. I got to compete in my home pool, I ended up winning the gold medal, I got to hear the national anthem surrounded by all my friends and family. It was so special, and one of my main sponsors was the head sponsor of the event, and they put such work into promoting the event. They used my image for everything, and while there was some added pressure, I really thrived off it.
What are some sports brands that you love?
As with most women’s clothing, things fit our bodies differently with swimwear. When it comes to racing suits, I am a Speedo girl. For training suits, I always try to find a chlorine-safe piece that won’t fall apart after a week. There’s a brand called JOLYN that does loads of different body shapes, and they do suits with ties at the back for the bigger busted girls, and different sized bottoms within the one piece swimsuit. The Irish brand Swimkit are at all of our competitions and they also do lovely colourful suits for kids.
What are your three desert island beauty products?
I am absolutely so committed to the Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream. With swimming, chlorine can ruin your skin and if you don’t have a facemask on every time you go to sleep, your skin will feel like it’s going to fall off. I like to do my skincare routine and slug it on as a last step so it will soak in during the night, and the smell is like aromatherapy for me, it sends me straight to sleep.
Any vitamin C serum is essential. Chlorine will also dull down your skin, it will leave me looking like I haven’t slept for days. Vitamin C perks me right up.
The L’Oreal Metal Detox is really good at getting chlorine out of your hair, and any leave-in conditioner spray is absolutely essential. I cannot survive without them. Also, because I’ve got copper hair now, the L’Oreal colour bomb conditioners are life saving!
What is your daily routine like?
It does change everyday, but I would tend to do two sessions a day. My alarm goes off, I feed the dogs, I feed myself, I go training and I’m on poolside for about half 7. On the poolside, we do our stretching and our dryland warm up, and you get in and swim for an hour and a half. It could be a recovery session, or a fast session, or a skills session. Then I’ll eat again — swimmers will always talk about their second breakfast! Then I’ll go to the gym, eat more, have a nap, eat again, and go for another swim in the evening. At some point in the day I’ll fit in walking the dogs!
What is your biggest splurge to celebrate a win?
When I came home from Rio, I was in the middle of a culinary degree and I bought a Kitchen Aid, and I’m still so connected to it! It’s the best mixer ever, so I’m excited to have more time to bake after I retire. I actually didn’t get myself anything after Tokyo, but I really just wanted to get away, and have a break. So my big splurge after a competition will be to take myself away on a holiday without worrying about how much it costs because I live such a boring life most of the time so I deserve to enjoy my time away from swimming!
How do you mind your mental health?
During lockdown, I realised that I didn’t understand rest. I knew how much sleep to get, and napping when I needed to nap, but I was really bad at just being still — and I still am. When I came home from Tokyo, I actually got diagnosed with ADHD, and it was only through that that I realised it was something I would have to take time to understand. I go into overload, get overwhelmed, and then I get burned out. It’s chaos, so at the moment, I’m trying really hard to take time out to schedule in a holistic massage, or some meditation, or yoga. Being comfortable being still is probably the most energising thing you can do for yourself. I tried reflexology for the first time the other day and I felt like a new woman!
It’s all about giving control to other people to look after you, and it’s not a partner or a friend, it’s someone you’re paying. It’s guilt-free, and you have to let them do it, which is something I really struggle with.
The biggest thing that my ADHD diagnosis has given me was that it allowed me to forgive myself for certain things.
I used to get so upset with myself, and so frustrated if the house was a mess, or if I was late for something or forgot something. Those things that made me think ‘why am I like that’, or that made me feel like other people were judging me are actually key ADHD symptoms, and understanding that has made me allow myself to be more gentle with myself.
How do you get over a bad performance?
When I perform badly, it tends to haunt me. It’s all about taking it as it is, and using what you can learn from that as your baseline. Refusing to allow yourself to make those same mistakes again will keep you motivated to do the absolute best.
What does confidence mean to you?
Confidence is the most powerful thing a person can have, especially as a woman. People always assume things about women, so when you know yourself and are confident about what you’re doing, you can’t be rattled. Going into Tokyo, I was so confident in the work I had done, and in my readiness for what I had to do, that when it came to the race, I didn’t feel scared — I felt ready.
Working on your confidence is all about setting your sights on who you want to be and knowing the steps you need to take in order to get there. Ticking things off that list every day, getting all the little things required, that’s where confidence comes from. Having confidence is your superpower.
Lastly, why is sport such an integral part of community, on a club, local, national and personal level?
Sport, in general, is just so powerful. When I came back from Tokyo, I realised just how powerful it was. Everyone had gone through this worldwide event and had to face a lot of ups and downs, but when it came to the Games, everyone tuned in and it brought people together. When I came home, I did a tour around Clontarf in an open top car, and so many people came out to see me. There were old men crying, little kids waving signs, people were chanting, and that’s what that moment in time gave those people.
Sport gives people options. When you’re a kid, you can lose your confidence if you’re not as academically smart as others, but everyone has their own thing, and that could be sport. It’s so important to promote different types of sports — I can’t run, and if someone was forcing me to do that, I might never have become an athlete. Trying different things and figuring out what it is that you love, what you’re good at, and what you want to do is so important.
Sport has been a second home for me. It’s the place where I feel most accepted, where I’ve met some of my lifelong friends. Whenever I need to make a decision, I’ll go for a swim because it takes me away from all the other things I have to do in life. It takes me away from my phone, and it allows you to feel a sense of accomplishment every day.
Imagery via @keane_ellen on Instagram. This article was originally published in 2023.