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Walker eyes golden glory

3/ 5/2006

MARPLE'S Matthew Walker will attempt to end one of the best weeks of his career on Saturday by taking gold in the Visa Paralympic World Cup.

Walker was named the Male Swimmer of the Year last weekend at the Splash awards and heads to Manchester in a buoyant mood.

He recently regained his 50m world record after a six-year gap and the 28-year-old said: "I've had a great couple of weeks and can't wait to compete again.

"It was a fantastic honour to receive the Splash award from my fellow swimmers and winning gold in front of the home fans would be an amazing end to the week."

But Walker admits he doesn't know what to expect at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.

And with the World Championships on the horizon in December in South Africa, Walker added: "This is an ideal opportunity to test myself against some of the best swimmers in the world.

"The Chinese are coming over and it will be interesting to see how strong they are, and there's a few other names that I don't know a lot about.

"I'm training really hard at the moment for the World Championships and I'm confident I can record some quick times."

• EXPERTS from the team at Cheadle-based rehabilitation centre PACE will again provide technical support and equipment to athletes competing at the VISA Paralympic World Cup in Manchester this week.

Clinical and technical staff from PACE will be on hand during the event to support some of the world's top athletes, at several of the venues used in the competition.