Teen amputee sets sights on para-swimming win

A teenage amputee has set her sights on making her mark in the para-swimming scene after securing two gold medals.

Annabel Kiki, 17, from Cannock had to re-learn her favourite hobbies after being diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 13 and having her left leg amputated above the knee.

After joining her local swimming club and winning two medals at the Staffordshire County Swimming Championships, she is now gearing up for her first national para swimming competition.

“I like to grab every opportunity that is presented to me and I’m not going to let what happened to me stop me from reaching my full potential, ” she said.

A teenage girl in a swimming pool with her arms crossed at the ledge, She is wearing goggles and a black and red swimming cap. In front of her on the pool edge is a black bag and a prosthetic leg — The teen won two gold medals at the Staffordshire County Swimming Championships [BBC]

In 2024, she scooped the prestigious Golden Boot award, which recognises the top goal scorer, at the women’s amputee football World Cup.

Learning to ski again is also among her list of recent achievements along with gracing the runway at London fashion week and being featured in the Italian Vogue magazine.

The athlete added: “Even when I’m taking my leg off in front of all the people in the crowd and all the teams, I’m trying to balance – I’m still trying to be the best person that I can possibly be.

“I’ve been through something horrific and even in the darkest of times you need to find positivity and find the good times.

“You know it’s just what you need to do in order to push through what you’re going through.”

A young man in a black quarter zip jumper is smiling at the camera and standing next to a teenage girl with wavy brown hair who is wearing a white turtle neck jumper and pick and white cardigan with the letters APRA visible on her shoulder — Her brother Archie has said the athlete can whatever she puts her mind to [BBC]

Her cancer diagnosis followed what she thought was “just an aching knee” but led to 18 months of chemotherapy and the loss of her limb.

“It was such a terrible time to go through as a family and it was difficult to keep the morale high,” her brother Archie recalled.

“The brilliant thing about Annabel is that no matter what she puts her mind to, I can guarantee that’s what she’ll be doing and she’ll be brilliant at it.”