How Tim Terrific found fame through his flaming leg

He’s a star of Australian swimming, but despite being a Paralympic gold medallist, a world champion, and one of Para sport’s fiercest aquatic warriors, Timothy Hodge OAM smiles when he says some people know him because of his . . . leg.

To be more precise, his artificial leg which doubles as a work of art adorned with bright orange flames leaping against a base of pitch black. It’s a design most would expect to see on a souped up hot rod, not a super slick ‘n quick swimmer’s prosthesis.

The 25-year-old New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder – braced to compete in his third Commonwealth Games campaign – told NSWIS Media his prosthesis is also an outlet to express his personality.

“I originally started out by putting some different designs on there, like my favourite football team, or, at one point, an ACDC flaming guitar,” said Hodge, one of the stars who appear in the NSWIS Lights Up Glasgow social media series. “And I remember seeing the material at the department where they make my prosthetic legs and I thought, ‘oh, it’s pretty cool! It’s covered in flames. I’ll try it this’.

Hodge, who had the lower part of his right leg amputated when he was four, said he felt shocked to receive compliments for his hot rod-like leg.

“People thought I had a leg sleeve, a hyper realistic leg sleeve,” he said with a grin. “And I’ve found people remember the leg. As a result of the leg, they remembered other details about me: I was a swimmer, my name was Tim . . .  things like that.

“[There were also] people who I hadn’t necessarily met in person or talked to who saw the leg and thought, ‘oh, that’s cool’ and it stuck in their minds. It became sort of a part of my identity [so I’ve] continued on since then with the flame design.”

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Hodge, who has secured a total of three medals – one gold and two silver – from the 2018 Gold Coast Games and Birmingham 2022, has a deeper attachment to the ‘Friendly Games’ than viewing it as an opportunity to plunder Glasgow of as much precious metal he can to add to his collection of medals.

“Firstly, I think about all my previous experiences with the Commonwealth Games and  how much fun they were, the opportunities I had there and the memories I made,” he said. “And looking forward to Glasgow 2026, [it is] another opportunity to stand on the world stage, represent the green and gold and potentially win medals for Australia. It gives me a sense of pride, a bit of anticipation, a little bit of nerves as well – they’re always there.”

To prepare for Glasgow, Hodge has  focused on squeezing as much as he can from each gym training session under the watchful eye of NSWIS Strength & Conditioning practitioner David Young, and in the training pool where swim coach Misha Payne plots to ensure ‘Tim Terrific’ maximises his potential.

“I like to challenge myself in the gym by obviously pushing the limits on what weights I’m able to handle and the number of reps,” he said. “But also pushing the technique and making sure that I’m always doing every rep with perfect form. That obviously minimises the risk of injury, but it also gets the most out of the exercise.

“What I want to get out of each training session is a sense of improvement: one percent, two percent each session. I think that’s kind of the key to improving, and at the end of the day, being able to turn up to competitions each year having improved on the previous year.

“For example, my coach and I have worked really hard on my skills and turns and the time underwater and it’s given me the opportunity to take seconds off my race without having to necessarily swim fast, just through better execution.”

Daniel Lane, NSWIS