DROITWICH Spa swimmer Rebecca Redfern will be among the contenders at the World Para Swimming Allianz Championships, when the tournament gets under way on Monday.
The 19-year-old has been selected alongside 23 other athletes in the Great Britain team for the week-long Championships, to be held at the London Aquatics Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Redfern will take part in the 100m women’s breaststroke on Thursday (September 12), before competing in the 50m freestyle on the final day of the championships (September 15).
The University of Worcester student will be confident going into the tournament, which is the second-biggest disability swimming competition outside of the Paralympic Games, and will be provided with a marker of her progress less than a year before the Paralympics in Tokyo next year.
Redfern broke her own 100m breaststroke world record at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, only to be outdone by a new record set by gold medallist Fotimakhon Amilova, so will be keen to make a statement of intent ahead of her bid to turn silver into gold in 2020.
The World Championships were originally scheduled for Malaysia, but due to political issues were moved to London, providing a homecoming for a number of the British athletes who took part in the 2012 Paralympics at the Aquatics Centre.
Rob Aubry, who will oversee the progress of Redfern as British Swimming’s head coach, says all eyes are on claiming further silverware in next week’s championships.
“We have selected a team that will not just make finals, but challenge for medals in front of a home crowd,” he said.
“These championships are a key event for us ahead of Tokyo 2020.
“We’ve selected a squad which includes a blend of youth and experience to assist all our swimmers in their continued development towards Paralympic success next year.”
