HEREFORDSHIRE’S Sascha Kindred has Beijing in his sights after scooping gold at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester last week.
The 31-year-old won the 200m individual medley with a time of 2.45 minutes, beating silver medallist Yuanrun Yang from China by almost three seconds.
After landing gold medals in Sydney and Athens and silver at Atlanta, the three-time Paralympian has warned he can go even faster in Beijing in September.
“I was pleased with my swim,” said the Leominster Kingsfisher SC member. “It was my fourth Paralympic World Cup medal so I am happy.
“I wished I could have gone quicker in front of a home crowd but you can’t swim the fastest everyday. Overall, I am happy with the time and with my performance.
“I am in a hard training cycle at the moment. It is all for Beijing trying to get the work load right and making sure I peak at the right time.
“I am feeling in good shape; I got world records at trials. I am ready to race and I can’t wait to get out there.” Meanwhile, Kindred’s long-term partner Nyree Lewis surprised herself as she clinched silver in the 200m individual medley.
The 27-year-old shaved 1.5 seconds from her personal best as she clocked a time of 3.18.30 seconds to clinch her place on the podium behind GB team mate Natalie Jones.
“I am really shocked,” said Lewis - the reigning 100m backstroke Paralympic champion.
“All weekend I have been complaining about how tired I feel from training. So I just went out there knowing I wasn’t going to do a great time but I ended up beating my personal best.” Lewis is aiming to be in among the medals in both of her events.herefordtimes.com/" target="_blank">events as she casts her sights towards Beijing.
“I have qualified for the Paralympics so now it is a case of getting back to heavy training.
“My preparation is going great and I think I am on the road to have a really good games. My aim is to win the 100m backstroke which I did in Athens.
“In my second event I will face some stiff competition. It will be a tough race but, hopefully, I can get among the medals.” The Paralympic World Cup is hosted by the British Paralympic Association. It is sanctioned by the IPC and IWBF, and supported by UK Sport, Manchester City Council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here