Four-time world champion adaptive surfer Llywelyn Williams says losing his leg as a teenager elevated his life. The Abersoch, Gwynedd surfer lost his right leg after being hit by a car in 2011, and says surfing became central to his recovery and the years that followed.
He had already been passionate about surfing before the accident, which happened while he was out skateboarding at the age of 16. Williams says the sport helped drive his rehabilitation and gave him a sense of purpose after a coma and the eventual amputation.
What does Williams remember from his recovery?
Williams recalled coming around from a coma in hospital amid a dream in which a surfboard came between him and a bright light, “like you see in the movies”. He said:
It wasn't my time,
A friend asked him what he wanted to do while he lay in his hospital bed; he said he wanted to get back in the water and go surfing in Australia. Williams, known as Sponge by friends, said:
The rehab was to drive myself to get back into the ocean,
He added:
As soon as I got back in the ocean, I felt like I was born again.
When the board and you connect perfect on the wave, it just feels like you're flying.
His mother, Eirian Parry, described the “beautiful moment” when his friends carried him into the sea as he continued his recovery following the amputation. She also recalled, with visible emotion, the moment she and Williams' father faced what she called a “nightmare” when doctors asked them to sign a consent form to amputate their son's right leg.
David Williams told BBC documentary Our Lives: Beyond the Waves that it was the hardest decision of his life
but it was the only way to savehis son's life. He said:
To think he was nearly dead on the side of the road when the accident happened... to being the world champion,
He added:
Once he got his first wave back, there was no stopping him.
His father also remembered difficult early moments in the recovery, including telling his son he had to be strong while at a low point, then going into the room next door to cry.
Williams said his upbringing helped him cope.
The way my parents have brought me up is you've just got to get on with it so, yeah, I had one leg and that was it,he said.
How did surfing shape his life after the accident?
Williams said surfing played a pivotal role in his recovery and in the years since his accident. He works as a digger driver in the family construction business when he is not surfing.
He said:
I’ve learned how to do everything with one leg, except to be able to use a wheelbarrow,adding with a wry smile that when he was 18 he wheelchaired his way into the kitchen and told his family they were heading off to Australia.
He said:
We did a year out there travelling around the coast surfing, living in a camper van.
To be able to go back there now every year for a competition is just brilliant.
In March, Williams won the 2026 Bright Sky Australian Pro Adaptive Surfing Championship as the kneeling champion, proudly holding the Welsh flag aloft on the beach at Byron Bay, New South Wales.
He was also third in the North Shore Prosthetics Hawaiian Surfing Championships in May.
Williams self-funds participation in surfing competitions and says he has been thankful for the supporters close to home. He has also been lobbying with others for surfing to be included in a future Paralympic Games.
He said:
Surfing has been a huge part of my recovery and the adaptive surfing community has helped me so much,
He added:
Disability for me has elevated my life - anything is possible if you have any kind of disability.
What happens next for Williams?
After losing his leg as a teenager, Williams became a four-times para surfing world champion. Now he is at the top of the adaptive surfing world, and the challenge is to stay there.
Watch now on or BBC One Wales on Monday 20 July at 19:00 BST.
Key Facts
- Llywelyn Williams lost his right leg after being hit by a car in 2011.
- He is a four-time world champion adaptive surfer.
- He won the 2026 Bright Sky Australian Pro Adaptive Surfing Championship in March as the kneeling champion.
- He was third in the North Shore Prosthetics Hawaiian Surfing Championships in May.
- He is from Abersoch, Gwynedd, and works in the family construction business when not surfing.
