Ali Smith (born 13 December 1988) is a British Paralympic athlete who competes in

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

, and 4x100m Universal Relay events. At the age of 25, Ali was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

after noticing she was having abnormal symptoms. In 2017 she picked up para-athletics after loving

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

as a child before her disability. Smith, a two time Paralympian, was selected for both the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Paralympic Games, Summer Paralympics (french: Jeux paralympiques d'été de 2024), commonly known as the Games of the XVII Paralympiad, and commonly known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international Multi-sport event, multi-sport paraspo ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Career

Smith’s sporting career started in her teens where she was competed in professional

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

. This profession took her from her home toen Knutsford to

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

so she could pursue her dreams. When she was diagnosed with

it made it increasingly difficult to pursue this passion. After impressing in para-athletics events, she was soon invited to major events. She competed in the 60m at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Indoor Grand Prix in 2018. Later that year she got her first

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

call up where Smith took the silver medal in the T38 400m event of the

2018 World Para Athletics European Championships The 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany. She won the bronze medal in the 400m T38 event of the

2021 World Para Athletics European Championships The 2021 World Para Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe and a refugee team with one athlete. This was ...

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

, Poland. She came second in the 100 metres mixed class event at the

2021 British Athletics Championships The 2021 British Athletics Championships was the national championships in outdoor track and field for athletes in the United Kingdom, which also served as the main qualifying event for athletics competitors for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics ...

. Smith was selected to compete at the

. She was part of the

4X100m Universal Relay which won a Silver medal in

. She shared the podium with Libby Clegg, Jonnie Peacock, and

Nathan Maguire Nathan Maguire (born 27 July 1997) is a British wheelchair racer. He won multiple medals at both the 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships, 2018 and 2021 World Para Athletics European Championships, and also won the 400 metres mixed ...

. This topped off a successful Games where she finished 8th in the T38 100m and T38 400m. Smith took momentum into the following year as she was part of the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

team and the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. She agonisingly missed out on the podium by finished 4th in the T37/38 100m behind fellow British athlete

Olivia Breen Olivia "Livvy" Breen (born 26 July 1996) is a Welsh Paralympian athlete, who competes for Wales and Great Britain mainly in T38 sprint and F38 long jump events. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics and was selected for the T38 100m a ...

and

Sophie Hahn Sophie Megan Hahn, (born 23 January 1997) is a parasport athlete from England competing mainly in T38 sprint events. In 2013, she qualified for the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships, selected for the T38 100m and 200m. She took the gold i ...

. In 2023, Smith qualified for the

2023 World Para Athletics Championships The 2023 World Para Athletics Championships was a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was the 10th edition of the event and was held in the Charlety Sta ...

after recording personal bests of 12.94s in the 100m at Lee Valley in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and 62.31s in the 400m at

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's ...

. After qualifying for the T38 100m final, she was unfortunately hospitalised after a severe

relapse which brought her season to an end. She was able to bounce back the following year by being called up to represent

at the

2024 World Para Athletics Championships The 2024 World Para Athletics Championships is an upcoming Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It will be the 11th edition of the event and it is scheduled ...

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. She was nominated as co-captain alongside her teammate

Zac Shaw Zachary "Zac" Shaw (born 24 September 1995) is a British visually impaired sprinter who competes in the T12 and T13 disability classifications. At the age of nine he became afflicted with stargardt disease. In 2013 he started training for the ...

. She replicated her success at the

by winning another Silver medal in the 4x100m Universal Relay in a star studded team alongside Hannah Cockroft Kevin Santos and

. Smith was selected in the 33 strong Para-athletics team for

at the

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Alongside her sport, she works as the finance manager for

British Wheelchair Basketball British Wheelchair Basketball (BWB), formerly named the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association, is a non-profit organisation and the sports governing body, governing body for wheelchair basketball in Great Britain. The organisation repre ...

. She is also a trustee for Personal Best Foundation (founded by

England Athletics England Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in England. It was set up as a limited company in 2005, taking over the role of the Amateur Athletic Association of England. England Athletics is part of UK Athletics, the national ...

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ali 1998 births Living people English female sprinters British female sprinters Paralympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Athletics European Championships Sportspeople from Chester Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships