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Christina Lewis (21) is a Special Olympics veteran. She competed in the 2005 games in Glasgow and won two Golds and a Silver.

She wants to do even better this year.

Here father, Nick, is pleased with her progress in her training regime.

He says: "She is doing very well... She's been swimming since she was five. her mum used to be a swimming teacher here [Hinckley Baths] anyway. From a very early age she was diagnosed as having learning difficulties. She had problems with co-ordination but she has overcome these."

Julie wanted to know how often Christine practices. She says: "I usually practice twice a day for about an hour... My favourite stroke is breast stroke because it's my fastest."

Listen: Special Olympian Christina Lewis speaks to Julie Meyer

In the Special Olympics she is competing in the 400m crawl, the 200m crawl and 200m breast stroke. "I'm going for Gold!" she says with great confidence.

Nick explains that Christina comes from a very competitive family. "Her older brother does a lot of sport and has always been very encouraging... She has competed in Holland, Slovakia and other places."

1200 coaches and 1500 volunteers will be involved in the Special Olympics as well as the 2700 athletes.

These will compete in a range of Olympic style sports competitions across the city.

听Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Leicester City Football Club and Rutland Water are just some of the 21 sporting venues confirmed to host the 2009 Games.

Celebrity Support

Special Olympics Great Britain was established in 1978 and currently serves over 8,000 athletes who take part in year-round sports training and competition programmes. SOGB is a registered charity, which currently receives no government funding

Support for Special Olympics globally continues to thrive - stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Bianca Jagger and Jon Bon Jovi have lent their name as ambassadors to Special Olympics internationally. Leading British personalities and sporting figures such as Martin Johnson, David James, Darren Campbell and Leicester's own Gary Lineker have announced their support for Special Olympics in Great Britain.