 | | Natalie Jones |
Mancunian Natalie Jones is a strong favourite to take gold in the 200m Individual Medley. The 22 year old, who lives in Manchester, already holds the world record and is Paralympic and World Champion for the 200m Individual Medley. She won her Paralympic title in Athens in 2004 and followed it with Gold in last year’s IPC World Championships. Despite all this, Natalie failed to claim gold in last year’s Paralympic World Cup, something that she says she still finds a "bit of a disappointment. "The 200IM wasn't run at the event last year. I was really pleased with my silver medal in the freestyle though, as I hadn't done that event for long." Natalie isn’t downhearted, though, saying that the silver simply added to her motivation for this year’s event, adding that she’s "really fired up for this weekend and I want to bring the gold home! Hearing the crowd in Manchester will be brilliant. The crowd always give me a lift."
 | | Natalie in action |
As well as her favourite 200IM, Natalie will also be swimming the 100m backstroke. Not that this is a distraction. Having swam in freestyle, backstroke, breast-stroke and medley at the Athens Paralympics and is considered an excellent all round swimmer. Plus, she’ll be well prepared, as this is the second of four events she's swimming in May, a time she’s suitably described as "definitely a busy month!" Naturally, Natalie is already thinking about next year’s Paralympics in Beijing and has high hopes of adding to her medal collection. "I want to get the gold medal and break the world record in the 200m Individual Medley. I also want to enter other events, including the 100m freestyle and the 50m freestyle, and hopefully get medals in those too." | "I want to get the gold medal and break the world record in the 200m Individual Medley." | | Natalie is clear about her World Cup ambition |
If all that wasn’t enough, at 22, Natalie is also young enough to have a realistic chance of competing in London 2012. Unsurprisingly, given her ambition, it’s already on her horizon. "It'll be great! Like the Paralympic World Cup, it'll be our chance to show the world what Britain is all about." Whatever her result in the pool, one thing is for certain. If there were medals for enthusiasm and commitment, she’d be knee-deep in golds. The Paralympic World Cup swimming is on Saturday 12 May at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. Heats are from 10am and finals from 3pm. | 
