Alice Tai is currently one of England’s top Paralympic swimmers. At 27, she’s already achieved remarkable international success at the Paralympic Games, European and World Championships, and the Commonwealth Games.
She recently topped it off by winning gold in the women’s 100m backstroke S9 at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Aside from being a decorated swimmer, Tai is also a guitarist, a multi-instrumentalist (leave some talent for the rest of us!), and a member of the alternative rock band BLUSH!
In a video she posted on social media, Tai notes that her newest addition to her arsenal of gold medals looks like a guitar pick.
Designed by artist and designer Militsa “Milly” Milenkova, the medal, inspired by Glasgow’s coat of arms, could indeed be mistaken for a pick. So, instead of leaving it to collect dust, Tai decided to use her medal as a plectrum.
“I just won gold at the Commonwealth Games, and my medal looks like a guitar pick,” she says before launching into Megadeth’s Symphony of Destruction – from the band’s fifth studio album, 1992’s Countdown to Extinction – on her Fender Telecaster Deluxe.
Now that’s as “heavy metal” as any guitarist can get – pretty sure Dave Mustaine would approve.
