- He suffered a serious medical episode at the Tokyo Paralympic Games
- It took me years to get over that setback and regain my full health.
- Now he has won gold in the Paris swimming pool
Swimmer Tom Gallagher delivered Australia’s first gold medal of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games to cap a remarkable comeback from a near-fatal bout of pancreatitis.
Gallagher powered through to the dying moments of the men’s 50m freestyle S10 final in a packed La Defense Arena to claim first place with a finishing time of 23.40 seconds.
The 25-year-old’s surge down the stretch allowed him to hold off a chasing pack that included Australian teammate Rowan Crothers, who finished the race with bronze.
Gallagher’s gold and Crothers’ third place took Australia’s medal total in the pool to four on the first day in Paris, following an earlier silver for Lakeisha Patterson and a bronze for Brenden Hall.
The success was especially gratifying for Gallagher, who finished with a bronze in the 400m freestyle S10 in Tokyo, but his pancreatitis caused him so much pain that he was unable to take his place on the podium.
“To be the first gold medal of the competition means a lot to me,” Gallagher said.
‘In Tokyo I was a different athlete, I had a lot of medical problems with my pancreas, so after the 400m, I ended up in the hospital for about a month and almost died.
‘Luckily, a few years ago I had surgery and everything was fixed, and now I can become a sprinter.
Tom Gallagher claimed Australia’s first gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
The victory comes after a near-fatal bout of pancreatitis he suffered at the Tokyo Paralympics.
‘Pancreatitis is extremely painful, my heart rate went up to 240 bpm and all my internal organs started to shut down.
“I didn’t get on the podium that night, but tonight makes up for it.”
Crothers, whose bronze was his fourth Paralympic medal, couldn’t help but admire his teammate’s perseverance on his way to his first gold medal.
“I’ve won that race before, but Tommy did it today and a bronze medal is very good,” Crothers said.
“What a story! I think Tom is an incredible athlete and he has had to overcome a lot.”
The double medal for Gallagher and Crothers helped add lustre to an afternoon that started strongly but threatened to end in pain for many of Australia’s medal hopefuls.
Several Australians missed out on the podium, including Alexa Leary, who earlier on Thursday set a world record, which was surpassed 10 minutes later, and finished sixth in the women’s 50m freestyle S10.
His Australian teammate Rowan Crothers took bronze in the same race to get the Aussies off to a flying start.
Ben Hance had to settle for fourth place in the men’s 100m butterfly S14, while Paige Leonhardt placed seventh in the women’s 100m butterfly S14.
Hall claimed bronze in the afternoon’s first race (the men’s 400m freestyle S9), while Patterson took silver after handing over her lead to Hungary’s Zsofia Konkoly on the final lap of the women’s race.
“I could see her getting close in that last 200 and I like to chase her and I thought she could get there tonight,” Patterson said.
“I can’t complain, it’s my third Paralympic Games and I’ve been on the podium at all three Games and that’s a special feeling.”
It seemed a fitting end to Hall’s seven-medal Paralympic career, and she indicated these would be her last Games.
The 31-year-old said winning the medal took on special meaning given that it was the first time his two-year-old son, Bodhi, was able to watch him compete.
“Give him another year and he’ll realize that what Dad did was a big deal,” Hall said.
‘Right now he’s just enjoying watching daddy swim and having a lot of fun and for me that’s the most important thing.’
