PARALYMPIC swimming star Claire Cashmore thanked those who voted for her after she was named the Kidderminster Shuttle’s Sports Personality for 2014.

The 26-year-old topped our online ballot with 37 per cent of the vote to win the competition for the first time.

Stourport boxer Jerry Mongan finished runner-up with 28 per cent, followed by Kidderminster and Stourport AC’s Katie Lambert, Samurai Judo Club’s Paul Jones and golfer Emily Price.

Cashmore had another excellent year after winning two gold medals at the IPC European Championships.

The Kidderminster star won her first individual gold medal at the tournament.

She tied for first place in the SB8 100m breaststroke with Russia’s world and Paralympic champion Olesya Vladykina in a time of one minute and 20.93 seconds.

She then bagged a second medal in the medley relay as she teamed up with Amy Marren, Stephanie Slater and Stephanie Millward and came agonisingly close to a new world record.

She said: “I think the biggest thing for me is to know that people in the community are behind you.

“To have people recognise your achievements is really special and I thank everyone who voted for me.

“Last year went absolutely brilliantly and I am hoping to continue that in 2015.”

Cashmore’s success in Holland came after she adopted a new approach to training which has seen her put more emphasis on building up her strength.

Together with coach Rob Greenwood, she is contantly aiming to improve in any way possible.

Her big target is the IPC World Championships in Glasgow later in the year, with the trials also in Scotland in March.

“All I can do is keep improving, working on things until I get better,” she said.

“It’s about making tiny changes which build up and take fractions of a second off your times.”