Swimmer Steph Slater meets Commonwealth Games standard

Preston swimmer Steph Slater said she was thrilled after securing the qualification time to represent England at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Slater, 23, was a talented able-bodied swimmer until an injury in 2010 left her without the use of her left arm.

But now in the GB Para-swimming ranks, she set a new personal best of one minute, 7.2 seconds in the S8 100m freestyle at the trials in Glasgow.

"I didn't expect to go that quick but now I want to go quicker," she said.

"I'm still working on my strokes and finding my feet in Para-swimming but I'm over the moon with this."

The Glasgow 2014 programme features six Para-swimming events.

Slater's time easily beat the England qualifying standard of 1:08.71 and she is now set to take on world champion Maddison Elliott, 15, of Australia in the Tollcross Swimming Centre on Friday, 25 July before the IPC Swimming European Championships which start the following week.

"Because I missed out on the Commonwealth Games in Delhi as an able-bodied swimmer, I wanted to give it a go here," Slater added.

"But the Europeans are my main aim for this year."