Newport swimmer is Olympic poster girl (From South Wales Argus)
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Newport swimmer is Olympic poster girl
2:10pm Monday 28th February 2011 in News
UNDERWATER LAUNCH: Liz Johnson, centre, with runner Richard Whitehead and wheelchair basketball player Simon Munn
NEWPORT'S Paralympic swimmer Liz Johnson has posed for this striking picture to launch this year's Paralympic World Cup.
Liz Johnson, from Rogerstone, did the city proud when she clinched gold in the 100m breaststroke at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008.
The swimmer moved to train in Bath in April 2009 and said she has carried out 20 months of training.
Living in Bath means she is close enough to her home in Newport to visit friends and family and returns home about once a month.
To mark the launch of the 2011 BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester at the end of May, Miss Johnson, who has cerebral palsy, joined wheelchair basketball player Simon Munn and recent IPC Athletics world champion Richard Whitehead for an underwater photoshoot at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.
She said she is looking to build on the silver medal she won in the pool last year. “The BT Paralympic World Cup is a key competition for me and will be a crucial preparation as I look towards London 2012. I’ve had fantastic support from the team around me and I am hopeful of realising my dreams at a home Games," she said.
