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LOCAL swimming star Anthony Stephens learned last week that he had been selected in the Great Britain team for the Beijing Paralympic Games in September.

Stephens, aged 21, from Burnham Road, Highbridge, the world champion at 200 metres freestyle in his S5 disablement group, earned selection for his second Paralympics after two lots of trials.

His girl-friend Jenny Coughlin, 24, a visually-impaired swimmer, has also been named in the team, which is 36-strong, slightly smaller than at Athens four years ago.

Soon after learning of their inclusion, the couple, who are based at British Swimming's Swansea Performance Centre, flew out to Tenerife for a week's break.

In Beijing, where the Paralympics run from September 6-13, two weeks after the end of the Olympic Games, Stephens will be hoping to win the gold that eluded him in Athens four years ago.

There, he won silver in his strongest event, the 200 freestyle, and three bronze medals, including one in a relay. For many months soon after that, a shoulder injury put him out of action.

But he came back well to win the world championship at 200 freestyle in 2006, beating the man who had pipped him to the gold in Athens.

In the first lot of trials in Sheffield, Stephens broke three of his own British records, all of them in Paralympic qualifying times.

He continued his strong form in the second trials at the end of April to clinch his place.

After he and his girl-friend return from Tenerife, it will be back to intensive training at their Swansea base.

Both have busy lives out of the pool: Stephens is doing motor mechanics at college and Coughlin is studying theology.

12:59pm Wednesday 7th May 2008

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