‘Mermaid’ in the waters

Monique Murphy still has no idea what really happened on the night she lost her right leg. The 24-year-old, who swam competitively for 12 years before stepping away from the sport before her accident, is one of many Australian gold medal hopefuls in Cairns this week for the Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships. Back in 2014, Murphy’s life changed forever. “I was living in Melbourne and they believe my drink was spiked,” Murphy recalled.

SWIMMING PARALYMPIC silver medallist Monique Murphy still has no idea what really happened on the night she lost her right leg.

The 24-year-old, who swam competitively for 12 years before stepping away from the sport before her accident, is one of many Australian gold medal hopefuls in Cairns this week for the Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships.

Back in 2014, Murphy’s life changed forever.

“I was living in Melbourne and they believe my drink was spiked,” Murphy recalled at Tobruk Memorial Pool this week.

“I fell from a fifth floor balcony and I was in a coma for a week.

“I have no memories of the accident at all and I woke up with a broken jaw, I cut open my neck, it was very serious.

“I had numerous broken bones and ultimately had to have my right leg amputated at the knee.”

Through hydrotherapy, the now Brisbane-based swimmer returned to the pool, when she had recovered from her fall and again found her passion for the sport she competed in as a child.

“It was through hydrotherapy that I came back to the water,” she said.

“I rediscovered my love for the sport and I always have a lot more mobility in the water than on land.

“I surprised myself by making my first world championships team a year after my accident and I have been going for it since.

“When I got back into swimming, I was quick to realise that the 12 years I did previously had really set the foundation for me.”

Murphy, who goes by the name “Mermaid”, went on to represent Australia at the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016 to claim silver in the S10 400m Freestyle.

This week in Cairns, Murphy will compete in the same event she claimed silver in at Rio.

She uses a custom made prosthetic fin called her ‘mermaid fin’ as a training aid to help develop her power and balance in the water.

Seventeen swimmers from the 2014 Para Pan Pacs in the US will return for this meet, a strong signal that the Dolphins will again be super competitive.

The Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships (Para Pan Pacs) is hosted every four years by Australia, Japan, Canada and the US. Historically, the event attracts up to 19 countries and runs a Paralympic swimming program of events over five days.

The event starts this morning with heats starting at 10am with finals from 5pm.

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