Liz Johnson Paralympic Swimming Ambassador visits Paisley

Liz Johnson visited St James’s primary School in Paisley today (November 7th 2011) to promote the BT London 2012 partnership which they are doing at roadshows, presentations, team meetings, recognition events, and development workshops, and also help youngsters see that they can achieve greatness through sport too no matter what challenges they face.

Liz Johnson won gold at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and is fully focussed to do the same in London 2012.

Liz who first began swimming at the age of three in the hope that it would help her cerebral palsy became part of the British Paralympic swimming team at the age of just 14-years-old. She went on to win three gold medals at the IPC World Championships and silver in her debut Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004.

Liz’s greatest achievement to date came at the 2008 Paralympics where she won gold in the100m Breaststroke.

In 2009 Liz moved to Bath to begin training at the University and in November she set a new world record in the 50m Breaststroke at the Disability National Swimming Short Course Championships. Only one month later Liz broke her own world record and won gold at the IPC World Short Course Swimming Championships in Rio de Janiero.

Since graduating in 2008 Liz has also been pursuing a career in accounting and is studying for her ACCA qualification.

At this year’s BT Paralympic World Cup, Liz achieved a silver medal in the 100m Breaststroke as well as picking up a bronze medal at the recent IPC World Swimming Championships as she continues on her quest to 2012.

For more information please visit http://www.btplc.com/BTLondon2012/Ambassadorsprogramme/LizJohnson/index.htm

Or for the St James’s school website please visit http://www.st-james-paisley.renfrewshire.sch.uk/