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.