Swimmer looking to make a splash at 2020 Paralympics

A young swimmer with ambitions of reaching the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo claimed two bronze medals at last weekend’s British Gas Disability Short Course Championships in Manchester.

Thirteen-year-old Matthew Buckland has mild Cerebral Palsy, though that doesn’t prevent him from also competing in able-bodied competitions.

The Yavneh College student was encouraged to learn to swim by his mother Nicky as a six-year-old, and attended 1-to-1 sessions at Aspire in Stanmore, prior to having his first lessons at school.

Swimming with two clubs over the past couple of years, Barnet Copthall and the London Disability Swimming Club, he’s currently a member of the Amateur Swimming Association.

His latest wins at the weekend saw him claim third place in the 50m and 100m freestyle races, which come on the back of other wins earlier this year at the London Regional Disability Championships at the Olympic Aquatics Center and National Junior Disability Championships in Sheffield.