Tom Gallagher wins 50m freestyle in S10 category at Paris Paralympics

Australian swimmer Tom Gallagher was beaming with pride as he finally got to take his rightful place on the podium and collect his gold medal at the Paris Paralympics.

Thomas Gallagher celebrates on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Men's 50m Freestyle S10 final. Picture: Getty Images

Swimmer Tom Gallagher has won Australia’s first gold medal at the Paris Paralympics three years after he almost died after a medical emergency in Tokyo.

Gallagher was beaming with pride as he finally got to take his rightful place on the podium and collect his gold medal after winning the 50m freestyle in the S10 category.

In a touching moment, he invited his teammate Rowan Crothers — who won the 50m bronze medal after claiming gold at the last Paralympics in Tokyo — to join him on the top step of the dais as the strains of Advance Australia Fair rang out again at the La Defense Arena in Paris.

Tom Gallagher has won Australia’s first gold medal at the Paris Paralympics. Picture: Getty Images

It was deeply emotional for both men, but especially Gallagher after he finished third in the 400m freestyle final at Tokyo but was prevented from collecting his medal because of a serious medical episode that almost ended tragically.

Recalling what happened in Tokyo, Gallagher said: “I had a massive pancreas attack.

“Just a bit of context for those who don’t know but pancreatitis is extremely painful. My heart rate went up to 240 and all my internal organs started shutting down. So, it wasn’t good.

“My blood started clotting. So I didn’t make it to the podium, unfortunately, because I was in no state.”

Tom Gallagher was beaming with pride as he finally got to take his rightful place on the podium . Picture: Getty Images

Instead of collecting his medal, Gallagher was rushed to a Tokyo hospital where he remained for the next two weeks.

He nearly died but survived and eventually returned to Australia by Medivac but continued to suffer more attacks over the next year, including another serious episode that forced him to withdraw from the 2022 world championships.

Doctors made a breakthrough when they discovered he had a kink in an artery. His mother, who is also a doctor, kept researching his condition and found a surgeon who successfully operated on her son to fix the problem.

Gallagher transformed himself from a middle distance swimmer to a sprinter and hasn’t looked back, saying his troubles in Japan had actually helped motivate him for Paris.

“Other people have hurdles and that happened to be mine so it makes the victory even better,” Gallagher said.

“It’s just a hurdle and it made me a better person. It made my pain tolerance go through the roof.

“So I would say that without that experience, I wouldn’t be here. But it doesn’t make it any better or worse. It was just a hurdle.”

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Speaking to Australian journalists before his medal ceremony, Gallagher did admit to feeling a little apprehensive about finally getting on the podium but said later it was the greatest feeling in the world.

“A little bit of a little bit of PTSD kind of sneaks back in but I’m just happy to be on the podium for once,” he said.

“I’m obviously a new athlete nowadays, and I don’t let the past affect my present.

“I am proud of myself and that’s pretty rare for me because I’m the harshest critic of myself.

“It takes a lot for me to get emotional and it takes a lot for me to be proud of myself. And just standing there, I just really tried to enjoy the moment because it’s pretty rare and you hear a lot of athletes say they regret not embracing the moment.”

Crothers was also emotional.

Rowan Crothers (right) joined Tom Gallagher on the podium. Picture: Getty Images

He won the same race back in Tokyo but was just as thrilled to see Gallagher win this time, and told him so before they went to the medal presentation together.

“Tom’s such an incredible athlete. He’s had to overcome so much, not with his disability, but with having issues with his pancreas back in Tokyo, having knee problems, all this stuff and he’s gotten up today and he has won a gold medal,” Crothers said.

“He hasn’t just beaten me, he’s beaten a lot of other people to get there and achieve that kind of result, which is just incredible.

“For him to overcome all of that and come here and now win a gold medal ... it’s just an incredible story and I’m so proud of him.

“I told Tommy to make sure that he just soaks it all up and takes it in.

“He got to stand in the first place position and the Australian national anthem played for him. That’s such an incredible moment, and I’d hate to see an athlete finish in sport and retire and say that I was too busy thinking about my next race to enjoy the fact that I just got to live my dream.”

Crothers is a proud Australian and showed again how much it means to him when he walked out wearing an Akubra hat, then put back on when chatting to the media.

“The Akubra’s just a cool hat. I’ve also got to keep my head warm,” he said.

“I don’t have too much hair up there to keep me toasty, so I think it’s a great way to kind of show that bit of Aussie pride and also put my performance first.”

Originally published as Tom Gallagher wins 50m freestyle in S10 category at Paris Paralympics