Paralympics star Didi Okoh has always been on the move, with her childhood filled with competing in track and field at a national level in the UK, where she really sparkled and racked up those medals. But right before she hit her teenage years, something shifted a bit that would take her life in a direction she never saw coming. When she was twelve, at an event for gifted young athletes, another competitor casually mentioned that her left thigh looked a bit bigger than her right. What initially looked like a possible muscular imbalance, maybe even a sign of strength in her dominant leg, quickly turned out to be something way more serious.

So, this was the start of her long journey with lymphedema, which is when extra fluid builds up in the body’s tissues and leads to ongoing swelling. Opening up on her Instagram about this very personal experience, Didi recently shared a poignant glimpse into her past, stating, “I didn’t always do life with a physical limb difference. This is nine-year-old me with two very even legs. I just began my athletics journey and would continue with normal legs for another three years until one day we noticed my thigh looked bigger, which we at first assumed was a muscular imbalance.”

This initial assumption led her to spend months trying to strengthen her right leg, but the reality was far different. After a long day of tough competitions, she woke up to a shocking realization: her left leg felt “on fire” and was covered in rashes. Didi’s reflection captures the progression, “But over time, my leg got bigger and bigger and bigger, to the point where my whole leg had ballooned, and my running took a huge hit too.” The physical toll was huge, going from being a national medalist to an athlete who couldn’t finish races anymore, often collapsing at the finish line from the effort.

The condition caused a lot of pain, made her really tired, and left her open to serious infections that ended up hurting her leg even more. Getting a diagnosis was quite the ordeal, stretching over nearly four years with several referrals. Finally, at sixteen, she learned she had lymphedema at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. Didi shared on social media, “By age 16, I was finally diagnosed with lymphedema, a condition that causes swelling in the affected limb that just can’t go away. It’s aggressive and progressive, and 16-year-old me didn’t take this well.”

When she got the diagnosis, it felt like her Olympic dreams were slipping away. Coaches, concerned about her injury risk, hesitated to train her, which left her feeling isolated and pushed her to take a step back from the sport she had always loved. But from that low point, something new and even more inspiring started to take shape. Didi found her passion in para athletics and, with amazing determination, aimed for the Paralympics. She figured out how to handle her condition using compression therapy and a Lympha Press device, and after going through a tough classification process, she started sprinting.

In an amazing twist, she snagged a bronze medal in the T63 100m at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.  Her path to embracing herself was just as important as her success in sports. She wrapped up her post with a message about finding peace, saying, “But once I’d realized that she’s here to stay, I stopped fighting my leg because my huge limb, which you can’t really miss, actually has a lot of heart even if she is a bit lazy.”

Today, Didi Okoh is not just a Paralympic medalist; she’s also a strong advocate. She’s using her platform to educate others and inspire those who, like her younger self, might be facing challenges with their condition and self-confidence. However, how was her experience at the recent Paralympics?

Didi Okoh made waves in the Paralympics world

Didi Okoh had a surprising and thrilling start at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, clinching a bronze medal in the Women’s T63 100m final with a wild finish. At just 21, this sprinter had only started para athletics sprinting less than two years earlier after being diagnosed with lymphedema, making her a bit of an underdog on the international scene. In the final, there was a collision between her Italian rivals, Ambra Sabatini and Monica Contrafatto, which led to a pile-up right before the finish line. Okoh was really concentrating on her own technique and didn’t even realize where she stood at first.

“I looked back and there was a pile-up. I walked back to check if they were OK and as I walked back I hear a cheer in the crowd and looked up and saw my name on the board. When you’re in that zone you don’t realise what’s going on. It’s over so quickly. In my peripheral [vision] I could see it, but I genuinely thought I was really far behind everyone. Because I didn’t know where I was in the race, I was just focusing on my technique, relax my shoulders and ran through the line. For me, it was a huge shock [to medal], I didn’t realise how in contention I was,” the Brit shared about her experience.

She pushed through to snag third place with a personal best of 14.59 seconds, earning a bronze medal in her very first international championship and wrapping up ParalympicsGB’s athletics campaign on a high note.