KIDDERMINSTER golden girl Claire Cashmore has spoken of her hopes and ambitions after choosing to swap swimming for paratriathlon.

Cashmore, who was award an MBE after bringing home gold and silver from the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, has now switched her attention to a different sport after 16 years competing in the pool.

It was a spell that saw her go to four Paralympic Games and bag eight medals.

However, the Redditch-born star has taken the paratriathlon world by storm after seeking a new challenge.

She was taken on by the UK Sport Talent Transfer Programme in February and hasn't looked back.

The 29-year-old has secured victory in the British Championships as well as the Paratriathlon World Cup in Altafulla, Spain. She also placed fourth at the World Paratriathlon Series event in Edmonton, Canada, to again highlight her potential.

Her eye-catching development this year has now seen her selected for the World Championships in Rotterdam next Friday.

She said: "It was quite a surprise to get called up to represent Great Britain in Rotterdam. Back in January I didn't expect to make it to the world team.

"To represent GB again will be a great honour and being selected for that is a big moment for me after changing sports.

"There is a huge difference in the training. Even though I was swimming before it wasn't freestyle and it wasn't over a long distance. Then you have the factor of three different sports to contend with as well. I've had to get used to going from a race lasting just one minute and 20 seconds to a race lasting more than an hour. But I feel there is plenty of room for improvement and loads of gains to be had.

"Being part of the UK Sport Talent Transfer Programme has been great. I've had a lot of support from them and Great British Triathlon. It's such a different culture and everyone in the sport is so friendly and supportive. I'm really enjoying it.

"The exciting thing for me is that I'm constantly improving. In swimming you get to a point where PBs are hard to come by but now it's like I'm young again and you can see the development with each session.

"The ultimate aim is to try and represent Great Britain at the next Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020. To go there for my fifth games would be a massive achievement.

"There is a long way to go until then and I'm just focused on competing and improving with each race."