Losing my leg elevated my life, says world surfing champion

When he’s not surfing, he works as a digger driver for the family construction business.

“I learned to do everything with one leg except use a wheelbarrow,” Williams said with a wry smile.

“When I turned 18, I went into the kitchen in a wheelchair and said we were going to Australia.

“We spent a year beach-hopping, surfing, living in a caravan.

“To be able to go back there every year for a competition is really amazing.”

In March, he won the 2026 Bright Sky Australian Professional Adaptive Surfing Championships as kneeling champion and proudly flew the Welsh flag on the beach at Byron Bay in New South Wales.

And in May, he finished third at the North Shore Prosthetic Hawaii Surfing Championships.

He funds his participation in surfing competitions himself and is grateful to supporters close to home.

Williams is also lobbying others to include her sport in future Paralympics.

“Surfing has been a huge part of my recovery process and the adaptive surfing community has helped me a lot,” he said.

“Disability has elevated my life for me; anything is possible if you have any type of disability.”