Sophie Delezio fell victim to two life threatening accidents. Miraculously, she survived and is now a young woman with big dreams.
Twelve years ago, Sophie Delezio suffered third-degree burns to 85 per cent of her body after a car slammed into her Sydney childcare centre.
The then two-year-old lost both feet, some fingers, and her right ear in the horrific accident.
Unbelievably, she was struck again in 2006 at a pedestrian crossing.
Today, the little girl — who became a household name as the nation tracked her brave recovery — is all grown up.
Not only that, she’s a keen rower with dreams of becoming a paralympian.
The 13-year-old has loved the water ever since she was a baby, but was forced to abandon her goal of becoming a professional swimmer due to her many skin-grafting operations, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Now, she has taken up rowing instead — and wants to make it to the Paralympics.
“I needed to keep fit with some other sport. All my friends at school were talking about how great rowing was, so I decided to join, ” Sophie told Lisa Wilkinson on the Today show, this morning.
“I first started off as a cox for my school and then I joined the Balmain Rowing for Para-rowers.”
Sophie told The Sunday Telegraph “the Paralympics is my dream”.
“I did a few rowing machine tests beforehand to learn how to row and then we gradually got on the water,” she said.
“It was nerve-racking, but it was fun. It’s also a really good sport for me to build up my muscles and help my mobility.’’
The Year 9 student has joined the Balmain Rowing Club and uses a prosthetic hand attached to her right oar and prosthetic legs to row in the single skulls for Balmain.
Related content: Sophie Delezio starts high school.
Sophie plans to compete at several upcoming high school meets before the Australian Nationals in March.
The 2020 Paralympics will be held in Tokyo.
Top Comments
Such wonderful news to come out of such tragic circumstances. Well done Sophie, you truly will have all of Australia behind you!
You are truly an amazing person! Good luck and go get 'em.