S7 Ep7: Ellie Simmonds - “I’ve had people pat me on the head” Difficulties with disability representation and knowing when she was extraordinary

This week on Monday Mile I link up with a British Paralympic swimmer in Regent’s Park, a place to her that feels a little like home in the City of London. In 2008 she won two Gold medals for Great Britain and was the youngest member of the team. She then went on to win two Golds yet again, and claim the World record in 2012 and another Gold in Rio 2016.  This week I am talking to Ellie Simmonds!  Ellie received an MBE in recognition of her achievements, and in fact she is,  the youngest to ever receive one, she’s also got an OBE and is an advocate for representation across disability. Ellie opens up about the moment when she did feel different, “as a kid there was, you know when you have this moment, and your friends are all tall” .  We discuss the issues around disability representation, what it’s going to take to change that and some of the issues she has experienced along the way, “I’ve had people pat me on the head, and rub me on the cheek” . Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on? Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits. Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/ Filmed by Jon Moy.