A young man from Bridport is aiming to bring back a Paralympic medal to west Dorset.
Harry Stewart, 20, received £1,000 funding from the Dorset Community Foundation, which is playing a vital role in helping him prepare for the Games in Paris later this year.
Without the funding, the swimmer would have struggled to pay for accommodation and travel to training, which his mum, Dinah, has helped to arrange since his whirlwind journey to Paris began in January.
READ: Bridport swimmer's bid to make ParalympicsGB team boosted
Harry will be competing for ParalympicGB in the s14 category 100m breaststroke, for intellectually impaired athletes, as he has Asperger’s syndrome, and says his preparation for the Games is 'going very well'.
Speaking to the News, he said: "At the moment there is a lot of training and intense work. I train two or three times a day.
"I am enjoying the process and it will be exciting to see what I get out of it."
Harry has been swimming from a young age, first with Bridport Barracudas, then South Dorset Tornadoes and the West Dorset Swimming Club.
However, due to there being no 50-metre pool in Dorset, he now swims for Plymouth Leander Swimming Club in Devon.
His journey to the Paralympics in Paris has been a relatively short one so far though, having only got his s14 classification in January, at the National Swimming Championships in Aberdeen.
READ: Bridport swimmer selected for Paralympics
Prior to getting his para classification he had been ranked in the top 10 for the 50m breaststroke for able bodied swimmers.
He added: "I've always swam in competition in the able body category, and have been to national levels and medalled.
"Last summer there were talks about going into the Paralympics because of my learning disability.
"So we went to Aberdeen and got internationally classified and since then there has been a rise in competition and training."
Harry will be competing in the s14 100m breaststroke in Paris on Monday, September 2 and is confident he can make the final and possibly bring home a medal.
He marked his senior debut by claiming 100m breaststroke gold in the European Para Championships in Madeira, Portugal, in April, but is not taking anything for granted.
He said: "It would be nice to medal.
"Everyone wants to come back with one, but I am so new, I didn't think this was happening eight months ago.
"Most other Paralympians have been on a four year cycle."
"I want to go and take it all in and learn - I know I can get to a final and in the back of my mind I would like a medal.
Harry is also looking ahead to what the future holds and sees Paris as the first of many appearances at the Games.
In four years time he will be 24 for the Paralympics in Los Angeles and has set himself a target of getting gold in 2028.
He said: "If I carry on, I think I can get to two or three more Games.
"In LA I will be more experienced and I will be targeting a gold medal."
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