Paralympic gold medal swimmer Tully Kearney has said she hopes being awarded an MBE will help show people with progressive conditions that “they can still achieve”.
Kearney, who won gold in the Tokyo Paralympics women’s 100 metre freestyle S5, said being awarded an MBE at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday afternoon was a “surreal experience”.
The 25-year-old swimmer was born with cerebral palsy and developed generalised dystonia, a progressive neurological movement disorder, in her mid-teens – a significant progression in this condition, coupled with an injury, forced her to withdraw from the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.
