A North Shore swimmer has set her hopes on competing in the 2012 Paralympics and, already, her pace is wowing judges. Valerie Schuler reports.
Rebecca Dubber has quiet determination in her eyes.
"I want to get to the 2012 Paralympics," smiles the 16-year-old. "That's always been my dream and I have my mind set on it."
Earlier this month, Rebecca astounded judges at the Mayfair Pools National Age Group Championships in Christchurch by setting an unofficial 800m freestyle paralympic world record.
Her time of 11.21.06 was 15 seconds faster than the current world record for the S7 class.
"They stopped the time for half an hour to measure the pool and make sure I had not cheated. I also had to undergo drug testing. I realised I'd done exceptionally well and was really excited," says Rebecca.
The Carmel College student was born with sacral agenesis - a rare spinal condition similar to spina bifida. She has limited movement in her legs and uses a wheelchair.
Rebecca's love of water began at a young age when she attended baby swimming lessons at her local pool.
Through CCS Disability Action, she attended the Mini Olympics - an annual sporting event for disabled primary school children.
Rebecca's mother, Susan Dubber, says early success has been the making of her young daughter.
"It gave her a lot of confidence. The natural progression was to join a club and start competing."
Nowadays, Rebecca is a member of North Shore Swimming Club. She has competed at national and international level and has a large collection of medals and trophies to show for it.
She narrowly missed out on going to the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. But her trainer, Ian Turner - a former British swimming coach - has no doubt Rebecca will go on to be a great Paralympian.
"She is consistent, trains hard and is quietly determined to succeed," he says. "I would be highly disappointed if she didn't represent New Zealand in London in 2012."
The energetic teen trains 18 hours a week at the Milford Pool and at the Millennium Institute of Sport in Mairangi Bay. Her goal is to continuously improve on her speed.
This year is a big one for Rebecca.
The International Disability Swimming Championships - to be held in Sheffield, England, in May - are next on her agenda.
Then she's off to the Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven in the Netherlands in August.
A $5000 Variety Gold Heart Scholarship will help to cover some of her travel costs.
Elite games
The Paralympic Games is an elite sporting event for athletes with physical and visual disabilities including amputations, blindness and cerebral palsy.
The Paralympic Games began in the 1960s and are held every four years following the Olympic Games. Athletes compete in a range of different classes, in accordance with their level of ability.
New Zealand has a proud history of medals at both the summer and winter Paralympic Games. In 2008, 30 Kiwi athletes competed in seven
sports in Beijing and won 12 medals.
Need for speed
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