Swimming ace Nathan in fast lane for 2012

Thu 28th January 2010 10.10PM

TEENAGE swimming star Nathan Timblin has the 2012 Paralympics firmly in his sights and is determined to make a big splash on the London games. The 16-year-old, who was born with cerebral palsy, has successfully combined demanding course work at Cheadle & Marple Sixth Form College with his commitments in the pool. Nathan has already achieved six national times and is looking towards the British trials where he hopes to achieve his lifetime ambition of selection for 2012 London games.

Nathan decided that he wanted to learn how to swim at the age of 10 and was spotted by a coach from the Stockport Metro club. He said: “I just had a yearning to start swimming lessons and really enjoyed it. I use a wheelchair for much of the time and I also have walking sticks, but swimming gives me such a sense of freedom and a feeling of euphoria when I’m in the water. “Once I joined Stockport Metro things moved on quite quickly. I then started swimming professionally and competing at the age of 12 when I went to my first National Competition, simply for the experience and ended up winning two Bronze medals. “I was really chuffed and was then selected for the Disability Northwest Team when I was 14.”

He said: “My aim is to constantly strive for Personal Best times and I’m really annoyed with myself if I don’t achieve that. I want to create a good impression through my performance and become one of the new generation swimmers in time for 2012.” Angela Ellison, Nathan’s Personal Tutor at Cheadle & Marple Sixth Form College said: “Nathan is a role model to all his peers in the manner that he juggles his studies with a strict training schedule. “He works hard at everything he does in his drive to succeed and achieve his ambition. We all wish him every success in his future academic and competitive career.”