大象传媒

MANCHESTER: Swimming is set to provide a large chunk of Great Britain's medal tally at the and it is not hard to see why.

Where British able-bodied swimming has struggled in the past, the Paralympic squad, under the guidance of performance director , himself a former Paralympian, and head coach Lars Humer, are setting the pace for the rest of the world.

Having seen the swimmers, first at the a couple of weeks ago and now at the Paralympic World Cup, there is a fierce determination on their part to shine in Beijing this September.

They topped the medal table in Athens as well as at the last World Championships in South Africa at the end of 2006 and so have plenty to prove.

In this year's squad, there is the experience from the likes of Sascha Kindred, Dave Roberts, Nyree Lewis and James Crisp and the youthful exuberance of 13-year-old Eleanor Simmonds and fellow teenagers Sam Hynd, Jonathan Fox and Louise Watkin.

Almost half of the will be making their Paralympic debuts, which is a promising sign as 2012 approaches.

Former Paralympic swimmer , who retired after Athens and who is now part of the 大象传媒 commentary team at the Paralympic World Cup, told me there is a very good atmosphere around the squad as they aim towards Beijing.

"People have always trained hard but now they are getting the little things right and that is what is making a big difference, as well as the fact that there are more swimmers coming through the programme" he said.

"It is difficult to know what China will do at the Paralympics and other countries are also getting their programmes in place but I think the key for the British team is for them to go out and focus on getting lifetime bests and the medals won't be far away."