Pasterfield dreaming of Delhi gold

Swimming Australia
Published: Sep 26, 2010 12:00:46 AM Updated: Nov 13, 2012 11:52:35 AM

Beijing Paralympian Andrew Pasterfield has his sights set on gold as he puts the final touches on his first Commonwealth Games campaign at the Australian Swim Team staging camp, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

The 20-year-old Pasterfield, fresh from having the meet of his life at the IPC World Championships in Eindhoven in August, will be looking to build on the career-best result that saw he snare two gold and one silver medals and set three personal best (PB) times.

“I’m really looking to continue my rich vein of form from the IPC World Championships and as I’m only doing the 100m freestyle in Delhi, it would be nice to wipe another half a second off that particular PB,” said Pasterfield.

The New South Welshman, will be up against a familiar foe in Delhi, as Canadian IPC World Championships 100m freestyle silver medallist Benoit Huot, is set to compete.

The Canadian sprinter touched the wall a meagre 0.35 seconds faster in Eindhoven, when he stopped the clock at 53.46, a difference not quickly forgotten by the Greg Morrison coached Pasterfield.

“It (the fourth place finish) has been a big motivating factor during my last training block. Since I have been back from World’s I have had that time - fifty three low, fifty two high - in my head as the time I need to beat.”

“I know he (Huot) can go quicker than that too, so I have been really focussing on my weakness at training, which is the back end of the race, trying to improve my finishing speed into the wall.”

Pasterfield, who was born with cerebral palsy, is one of seven multi-class swimmers competing in India and looking to help build on the 56 medals won by Australia, in Melbourne in 2006.

Fellow multi-class swimmers competing include the AIS pairing of Matt Cowdrey and Ellie Cole and Paralympian’s Ben Austin and Annabelle Williams, while Blake Cochrane will also be deputising at his first Games.  

Cochrane and the rest of the 52-strong Australian Swim Team complete their Malaysian staging camp on Wednesday, where they will then fly to India for the XIX Commonwealth Games that start on Monday 4 October.

In this article: Annabelle Williams, Andrew Pasterfield, Matthew Cowdrey, Ellie Cole, Blake Cochrane, Ben Austin,