Hill using Paralympic heartbreak as inspiration for London 2012

By Tom Reynolds, Sportsbeat

SWIMMER Dave Hill insists he is old enough and wise enough to make sure the pain of his 2008 Paralympic heartache won’t come back to haunt him ahead of London 2012.

STARRING ROLE: Hill is determined to put his Beijing nightmare behind him and grace the London 2012 Aquatics Centre

With the experience of the 2004 Games, aged just 15, under his belt Hill was expected to be a shoo-in for the GB squad for the Chinese-hosted Paralympics four years later.

However, an under-par display at the trials saw Hill miss out on Beijing, meaning a full eight years will have passed before this year’s Games in the capital.

But far from letting that 2008 pain affect his chances, Hill insists those intervening years – and the experience garnered – has left him in a better position than ever to qualify for 2012.

March’s British Gas Swimming Championships at the Aquatics Centre in London will be the scene of Hill’s defining moment. And despite a recent injury set-back, he can’t wait.

“There are two months until the trials so everything is focused on that and my life is on hold until then,” said Hill.

“I am quietly confident about them but with a lot of nerves.  I have been there and done it before and I am a lot older and a lot stronger now. 

“I have just got to stay well and injury free up to then.  Missing out in a big race, like the one in 2008, is more painful than the 26 hours in a pool you do every week to prepare.

“I am lot more mature and have developed a lot personally in myself since then so hopefully I can get to London 2012 this year.”

While 2008 was a year to forget for Hill, the 22-year-old got back straight in the water with considerable success in 2009, taking World and European 100m backstroke bronze.

Injury has reared its ugly head in his London 2012 preparations however with an appendix injury having, by his own admission, left Hill under-cooked.

However, with his 2008 scars still not healed, Hill insists it will take more than a spell on the sidelines to scupper his London selection bid.

“I had to have my appendix out last August and that put me out for a little while but I made sure I got in the water ahead of when the doctor’s recommended,” he added.

“I am a great believer that everything happens for a reason and I am just looking at it as an extra motivation on the way to test me and test how much I want this.”

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