A TALENTED teenage disabled swimmer has his sights on the 2008 Olympic Games after already making great waves in the sport.
Wythall's Matthew Wilkes produced some sparkling form at the National Short-Course Championships to bag a glittering array of medals over 25 metres in Sheffield.
And what's more Matthew, who starting swimming at the age of five, also set himself three personal bests to prove his career is going from strength to strength.
The 19-year-old picked up two bronzes in the 50m and 100m freestyle and silver in the relay event.
His success comes after scooping The Most Improved Swimmer award at his Solihull Swimming Club - and now the up-and-coming competitor has serious ambitions to plug the 10-second gap to put him at Paralympic standard.
"He just seems to be getting better and better," said Matthew's proud mum Jane. "He has a big ambition at the moment and that is to compete at the Paralympics. He suffers from Cerebral Palsy and when he was a baby, we were told that swimming could really help him. So he has been in a pool since he was six months old and has never looked back since."
Although next summer's Paralympics in Athens has come just a little too soon for Matthew, he hopes his fastly-improving race times will see him ready to take on the world's best in four years.
But, for now, his immediate target is sinking more success at the National Long-Course Championships back in Sheffield next May.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article