The excitement of the Olympics may be over for another four years, but for one Burnham-On-Sea swimmer it’s all just about to begin.
Anthony Stephens, 22, is in Beijing this week to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games, which open this Saturday (September 6th).
Anthony, who won a silver medal at the Athens Paralympics in 2004 in the men’s 200m freestyle, and two bronze medals in the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle, has high hopes of claiming another medal haul this time.
He has been training hard in the run-up to the games and will be among a team of 35 swimmers representing Great Britain in Beijing, making the GB Paralympics squad the second largest of any taking part.
Anthony, a former King Alfred School pupil, now lives in Swansea but has family and friends throughout the Burnham-On-Sea area.
He won a silver medal in this year’s 200m freestyle at the 2008 British Championships and has set himself the goal of doing well again in the 200m freestyle and 50m freestyle races in Beijing.
Anthony was born with no legs and just one fully developed arm, but has never let this get in his way, and has been swimming from the age of three and breaking records since he was 10.
British Swimming National Performance Director Tim Reddish said: “The team has a good mix of youth and experience, with 45 per cent of the team attending their first Paralympic Games.”
“The average age of this squad is younger than the Athens team and this demonstrates that the systems and programmes that British Swimming have in place are working well.”
“It’s pleasing to see that a number of records have fallen during the past two competitions. The priority is to break British records because this shows that as a nation we are improving but to see European and world records tumbling is a good indicator of where we are on the world stage.”
The 2008 Paralympics opens this Saturday and continue until September 17th. The swimming events will take place at the National Aquatics Centre, also known as the Water Cube, from September 7th onwards and there will be full TV coverage on the BBC.
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