Bollington sprinter Libby Clegg believes this month’s BT Paralympic World Cup offers the perfect opportunity to prove she can secure double gold at London 2012 next year.
Clegg, aged 20, has been steadily rising through the ranks ever since claiming 100m silver at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, and earlier this year she bagged 100m gold and 200m bronze at the World Championships in Christchurch.
Aside from a trip to Turkey last month, Clegg has had her feet up since then but the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester – where she’s won 100m gold for the last two years running – will see the former St Albans Primary School pupil thrust back into the heat of action.
Clegg is the first to admit that the 100m is her strongest event but she believes with a bit of work, she can bring her 200m up to speed as well – and she’s eager to show that to her rivals in Manchester.
The Paralympic World Cup is the start of the season because of the timing of the World Champ-ionships," said Clegg. "I was so pleased with how I performed in New Zealand and to get gold and so I had a bit of time off after that.
"But I’m ready to get back into it and it will be very interesting to see what kind of shape I’m in when I get to Manchester and what my rivals are like.
"I’m confident about what I can do over 100m and going into London next year I have the belief that I can challenge for the top medals.
"My 200m definitely needs some work and I’m not as sure about that event but hopefully between now and then I can improve and challenge in both."
With the IPC World Championships taking place at the start of the year, Clegg will have limited opportunities to take part in major competitions before the Paralympic torch lights up the capital next September.
But she has been given the boost of being invited to compete at both of the UK’s Diamond League meetings at Crystal Palace and Birmingham this summer – opportunities she’s determined to grab with both hands.
"It’s difficult because there aren’t that many big competitions where I can race against my rivals," added Clegg. "I went to a meet in Turkey last month and it was a bit of a waste of time to be honest. Because of when it was there was pretty much no-one else there worth competing against, so I was basically racing myself.
"But I will get the chance to run at both Crystal Palace and Birmingham this summer which is great for me to compete on big stages – hopefully it will pay off."
The BT Paralympic World Cup is taking place in Manchester from 23-28 May with elite international athletes competing in Swimming, Athletics and Wheelchair Basketball. Go to www.btparalympicworldcup.com for tickets and more information.
