Tully Alicia Jacqueline Kearney (born 11 April 1997) is a British Paralympic swimmer. Kearney currently competes in the S5/SB4/SM5 classification for swimmers with physical disabilities. She won gold and silver at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and followed this up at the Paris 2024 Games with two further gold medals, including retaining her 100 m freestyle S5 title. Since first competing at the

World Para Swimming Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known also as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Prev ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

she has won thirteen World Championship medals, ten of which are gold. Kearney is a multiple British, European and World record holder.

Early and personal life

Kearney was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, England in 1997 and grew up in

Aldridge Aldridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is historically, a village that was part of Staffordshire until 1974. The town is from Brownhills, from Walsall, from Sutton Coldfield and from ...

. She was born with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

(spastic diplegia) and developed generalised

dystonia Dystonia is a neurology, neurological Hyperkinesia, hyperkinetic Movement disorders, movement disorder in which sustained or repetitive muscle contractions occur involuntarily, resulting in twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal fixed po ...

, a progressive neurological movement disorder, in her mid teens. These conditions primarily affect her lower limbs and also her left arm, wrist, hand, both shoulders and trunk. Kearney was further diagnosed with

scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...

in 2019. She is a patron of Dystonia UK and works to raise awareness of the disorder. She is also an ambassador for CP Sport. She attended The Cooper and Jordan School in Aldridge, where one of her fellow pupils was future Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Simmonds. She continued her education at the age of 14 as a weekly boarder at

Royal Wolverhampton School The Royal School, Wolverhampton is a co-educational free school and sixth form for day and boarding pupils in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is the only state school of its type in the UK to have a Royal Charter and it has been a f ...

, having got a scholarship to join their swimming team. Kearney studied for her A-Levels at

The Streetly Academy The Streetly Academy (formerly known as The Streetly School) is a large co-educational secondary school in Streetly, West Midlands, England, on the border of Birmingham and Walsall local authorities. It was established in 1961. In December 2012 ...

. In 2019, Kearney graduated from

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

with a BSc (Hons.) degree in

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

. She began a Master's degree course in Human Physiology at her alma mater, but had to give this up after a head injury in 2023 resulted in

post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome (PCS), also known as persisting symptoms after concussion, is a set of symptoms that may continue for weeks, months, or years after a concussion. PCS is medically classified as a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). About ...

and a deterioration of her dystonia. Kearney has been open about how this affected her mental health.

Career

Career beginnings

Kearney began swimming at the age of eight after being approached by a coach while she watched her older brother train at a local club. She decided to take up swimming competitively after being inspired by Ellie Simmonds, who displayed her medals from the

2008 Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

at a school assembly. Kearney joined Boldmere Swimming Club in 2010 and was coached by Ashley Cox. Then classified as a S10, SB9 and SM10 swimmer, she competed in national youth competitions at the age of 14, winning gold in seven events at the 2011 DSE (Disability Sports Events) Championships in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

2011 – 2013: First international competitions

In 2011, Kearney was selected for and competed in the 25th German Open Meet in Berlin – her first international competition. In her age group events she took seven medals and added a further three (one gold in the SM10 200m individual medley and two silvers in the S10 200m and 400m freestyles) in the open age events. The 2011/12 season saw Kearney selected as a World Class Development Funded Athlete by British Disability Swimming, under the coaching of Nathan Hilton. At the 2013 British International Disability Swim Championships, held in Sheffield, Kearney twice broke the British record for the 100m S10 backstroke; first during the heats, then again in the final. She also recorded personal best times in three other events. Her performance on that day earned her a place on the British team competing at the

2013 IPC Swimming World Championships The 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships was the seventh IPC Swimming World Championships, an international swimming competition, the biggest meet for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Montreal, Quebec, ...

in Montreal. Kearney entered five different events at the World Championships and won bronze in the women's 400 m Freestyle S10 behind France's Elodie Lorandi and Canada's Aurelie Rivard.

2014 – 2015

An illness during the British national trials in 2014 resulted in Kearney missing out on places at both the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

. Her first event back in the pool, having recovered from her illness, was as part of National Paralympic Day at the

London Aquatics Centre The London Aquatics Centre is an indoor facility with two swimming pools and a diving (sport), diving pool in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, Stratford, London. The centre, designed by architect Zaha Hadid as one of the main ...

, where she won the multi-classification 400m freestyle. In 2015, Kearney qualified to represent Great Britain at the

2015 IPC Swimming World Championships The 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships was the eighth IPC Swimming World Championships, an international swimming competition for athletes with a disability. It was held in Glasgow, United Kingdom and took place from 13 to 19 July. Around 580 ...

in Glasgow. Due to her progressive disability, Kearney was reclassified before the trials as a S9, SB8 and SM9 swimmer. She entered seven events, including the freestyle relay and medley relay team events. She took home six medals in total, four of them gold (in the medley relay, 100m butterfly (S9), 200m individual medley (SM9) and 400m freestyle (S9)). She took bronze in the freestyle relay, and silver in the 100m backstroke S9, behind a world record-breaking swim from Australia's

Ellie Cole Ellie Victoria Cole, (born 12 December 1991) is an Australian retired Paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player. After having her leg amputated due to cancer, she trained in swimming as part of her rehabilitation program and progresse ...

. Kearney set three European records in Glasgow: in the 400 m freestyle S9, 100 m butterfly S9, and 200 m individual medley SM9. Kearney was Great Britain's top medal earner at these championships, and, following this success, she was promoted from the World Class Podium Potential programme to the Podium programme for the 2015/16 season.

2016 – 2017

Kearney was selected for the

2016 Paralympic Games The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

but was forced to withdraw just two weeks before the Games due to battling a significant progression of her generalised dystonia, coupled with an ongoing shoulder injury. As a result of this uncertainty in her career, she lost her position at the National Performance Centre in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and lost her funding. She took a year out from swimming and focused on university. She returned to the pool in 2017 and was reclassified as a S7, SB6 and SM7 swimmer at the British Para Swimming International Meet in April of that year due to the further progression of her disability.

2018 – 2020

2018 saw a revision of the World Para Swimming Classification system; thus, Kearney was reclassified as a S5, SB4 and SM5 swimmer. She returned to international competition at the

World Para Swimming European Championships The World Para Swimming European Championships (World Para Swimming European Open Championships), known until 2018 as the IPC Swimming European Championships, are the European continental championships for Paralympic swimming, swimming where athl ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, winning gold in the 100 m freestyle S5 and bronze in the 50 m freestyle S5. She ended the year ranked number one in the World in three events. In recognition of her success, she was reinstated onto the World Class Podium Potential Programme for the 2018/19 season. Kearney competed at the 2019 World Championships in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where she became triple World Champion after winning gold in the 50 m freestyle S5, 100 m freestyle S5 and 200 m freestyle S5, all in British record times. She again ended the year ranked number one in the world in these three events. In recognition of this success she was moved to the World Class Podium Programme for the 2019/20 season.

2021 – 2022: First Paralympic Games and further World Championship success

In July 2021 Kearney was named as a member of the ParalympicsGB squad that would compete at the postponed

2020 Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympi ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. She competed in two events and medalled in both: gold in the 100 m freestyle S5 and silver in the 200 m freestyle S5. In 2022 she became triple World Champion for a second time at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, additionally achieving World Records in all three events. Kearney was not selected for the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

as lower disability classifications typically aren't included. She did, however, volunteer at the Games, as they were her home games in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. She has shared that this "incredible experience" gave her "massive appreciation for all the volunteers" who are essential in ensuring that large-scale sports events can go ahead. Kearney also criticised the accessibility of the Games, as designated

blue badge A disabled parking permit, also known as a disabled badge, disabled placard, handicapped permit, handicapped placard, handicapped tag, and "Blue Badge" in the European Union, is a permit that is displayed upon parking a vehicle. It gives the o ...

parking was located too far away for physically disabled spectators and volunteers to comfortably access some venues.

2023 – 2024: Injury and Paris Paralympic Games

Kearney was forced to withdraw from the 2023 World Championships due to a significant head injury which resulted in post-concussion syndrome. Although not fully recovered at the time of the Championships, Kearney was named to the team and attempted to compete but collapsed after her first race. The injury also triggered a further deterioration of her dystonia, particularly affecting her left arm, hand and wrist, as well as her shoulders and legs. Kearney has spoken about the impact that the head injury has had on her life, both physically and mentally; not only did it disrupt her swimming career, but the effects on her memory, vestibular system and eye tracking resulted in her having to withdraw from her Master's degree course. After what Kearney has described as an "18-month battle" following her injury, she was selected for the

ParalympicsGB The British Paralympic Association (BPA) is the National Paralympic Committee for ''Great Britain'' (GBR), and is responsible for the United Kingdom's participation in the Paralympic Games. The BPA select, prepare, enter, fund and manage the ...

team that competed at the Paris 2024 Games, one of only two reigning swimming champions to be selected.

Honours and awards

Kearney won the Junior Sportsperson of the Year award at the 2014 Birmingham Sports Awards. She has stated that the award means a lot to her as it was contended by both able-bodied and parasport athletes. In 2015, Kearney was one of the final three athletes to have been shortlisted for Young Sports Personality of the Year at the 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards. She was a runner-up alongside jockey

Tom Marquand Tom Marquand (born 30 March 1998) is a British jockey who competes in flat racing. Background Marquand spent his childhood near Cheltenham and, although not from a racing background, grew up around horses. After pony racing and riding out f ...

; the eventual winner was gymnast

Ellie Downie Elissa Rebecca "Ellie" Downie (born 20 July 1999) is a retired artistic gymnast who has represented Great Britain. She is the all-around 2017 European gymnastics champion, the first gymnast to win a major all-around title for Great Britain. ...

. She was named Birmingham Amateur Sportsperson of the Year in 2019. That same year, Kearney was also awarded a Pride of Sport Award in recognition of her fight to return to competitive swimming following the progression of her dystonia at the end of 2015. Kearney was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to swimming. She was further appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2025 New Year Honours The 2025 New Year Honours are appointments by King Charles III among the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kearney, Tully 1997 births Living people Cerebral palsy-category Paralympic competitors English female freestyle swimmers British female freestyle swimmers English people of Irish descent British female medley swimmers British female butterfly swimmers Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the World Para Swimming European Championships Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic swimmers for Great Britain Swimmers from Nottingham Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Swimmers with cerebral palsy Members of the Order of the British Empire S5-classified para swimmers 21st-century British sportswomen Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain English female butterfly swimmers English female backstroke swimmers British female backstroke swimmers English female medley swimmers 21st-century English sportswomen Officers of the Order of the British Empire