Bullying victim Tiffany Thomas Kane says winning a gold medal at her debut Paralympics takes away the pain of what she’s gone through.
The 15-year-old swimmer bagged a gold medal and three bronzes in Rio, and ended her busy seven-event campaign on Saturday (Sunday AEST).
The Sydney schoolgirl said representing her country and bringing home gold meant everything to her after a rough few years.
“It’s been very special considering some stuff’s happened to me lately,” she said.
“So I think this has just changed it all. It’s taken everything away. It’s just made me really happy.”
Born with hypochondroplasia, a developmental disorder causing short stature, Thomas Kane was at the centre of a bullying incident involving fellow students from Ravenswood School for Girls while on camp last year.
At the time of the incident, Thomas Kane was training for the Glasgow 2015 world championships, at which she went on to win gold and break the world record in the women’s 100m breaststroke.
The teenager says she’s enjoyed every second of her first Paralympic Games, thanks to the camaraderie in the Australian team at Rio 2016.
“We all support each other,” she said.
“We call each other the mob and that’s what we are. We’re all together.”
Thomas Kane hopes she can be a role model for other children growing up with a disability.
“It’s just good to see that other people are inspiring me, and I’m inspiring them,” she said,
“There’s people out there who might want to do what I’m doing.”
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
I was in a similar position to Tiffany Thomas Kane, being bullied in primary school and early high school about my disability. Then suddenly, I started beating my schoolmates (at swimming) and began representing my state and country at competitions. Surprise, surprise, the bullying then began to disappear. Bullies are sad and fickle creatures. Tiffany showed everyone what a star she is and will continue to be.
Matt
Guest
Ravenswood advertises itself as a Christian school. They are doing a very bad job at teaching Christian values. As a teacher, I know that the first thing a bully says is that it was 'just for fun'. I can just imagine the kind of power relations involved in the incident, and the reason so many people turned their heads. The incident should tarnish the reputation and the character of both the students and the school for a generation. The school captain who sought to excuse her sister's cruelty should also hang her head in shame. For god's sake, the very least you can do is admit you were wrong and seek forgiveness.