WYRE Forest swimming sensation Claire Cashmore was in impressive form against her Paralympic rivals despite suffering from glandular fever.

Cashmore won four medals at the DSE open long course event in Sheffield, even though she was struck down by illness on the eve of the event.

The former Wyre Forest Swimming Club star clinched silvers in the 200m individual medley and 50m freestyle with bronzes in the 100m backstroke and 100m breaststroke.

The race attracted a top international field including Natalie Du Toit and Stephanie Dixon, who shared the medals with Cashmore at the Paralympics in Athens last year.

Du Toit is currently setting the standards for Cashmore and her peers to follow. She was the star of the show at Sheffield and at last weekend's Paralympic Cup meeting in Manchester where she won the 100m backstroke, just ahead of Canadian Dixon.

Cashmore had to settle for fourth place at Manchester despite a strong swim.

"We were very pleased with Claire's performances and her times, especially when we discovered she had been swimming with glandular fever," said Cashmore's father Duncan.

"She was up against a strong international field in both competitions and Natalie Du Toit is out there in front at the moment."

Cashmore, whose left arm is severed at the elbow, celebrates her 17th birthday on Saturday.

Her next major competition is the US Open in Portland, Maine, in July.

Highlights of last weekend's Paralympic Cup will be screened on BBC2 on Sunday afternoon.

EMILY Lane and Philip Harrison won events for Wyre Forest Swimming Club in the first round of the Mercian Summer League, at Leamington Spa.

Swimmers who have gained regional (Midland district) qualifying times are ineligible for this league, and with 13 swimmers unavailable, Wyre Forest struggled to compete with the bigger clubs.

Lane won the 12/under 100m freestyle, and Harrison the 14/u 100m butterfly, both also achieving a second place, and many of the other swimmers gained personal best times.

Final points total: Solihull 192, Haden Hill 191, Leamington Spa 189, Nuneaton and Bedworth 175, Perry Beeches/SSS 173, Wyre Forest 115.

First places: girls - Lane (12/u, 100m freestyle); boys - Harrison (14/u, 100m butterfly).

Second places: girls - Lane (12/u, 100m breaststroke); boys - Sam Rose (10/u, 25m butterfly), Harrison (14/u, 100m freestyle).

Third places: girls - Olivia Ward (10/u, 50m freestyle), Ellie Painter (12/u, 100m backstroke); boys - Josh Bradley (12/u, 100m breaststroke), Jack Barnett (12/u, 50m butterfly), Nick Carmichael (open, 100m individual medley), Ross Morton (open, 100m backstroke).

Round three of the Ross Diddy League took place at Cheltenham, aimed at swimmers from nine to 13, who would not normally swim in the first team, and the Wyre Forest youngsters met strong opposition.

Final points: Cheltenham 178, Stourbridge 158, Wyre Forest 117, Pershore 97.

A repeat performance in the final round should see the Wyre Forest team quality for the final.

First places: girls - Jessica Wilkinson (10/u, 25m backstroke), Ellie Painter (12/u, 25m backstroke), Lane (13/u, 50m butterfly); boys - Richard Harrison (12/u, 25m backstroke).

Second places: girls - Gabrielle Rose (11/u, 25m freestyle), 11/u freestyle relay (Olivia Ward, Susannah Burns, Madeleine Belsey-Day, G Rose), Painter (13/u, 50m freestyle); boys - nine medley relay (Luke Barnett, Connor Allen, Matthew Hoult, Frank Carroll), nine backstroke relay (S Rose, Carroll, Allen, L Barnett), nine freestyle relay (L Barnett, Hoult, Allen, S Rose); S Rose (10/u, 25m butterfly), 10/u medley relay (Luc Allin, Nick Thorley, S Rose, Jonathan Morgan), 10/y freestyle relay (Thorley, L Allin, Morgan, L Barnett), Alex Hoult (11/u, 25m freestyle, 25m backstroke), Daniel Mason (12/u, 25m breaststroke), Timothy Watson (12/u, 25m freestyle); mixed - all ages 10 x 25m freestyle relay (S Rose, Emma Mountford, Morgan, G Rose, Hoult, Burns, Watson, Painter, Ryan Thorogood, Lane).