Project Brighton: Brighton local Fabienne is selected to swim for the GB Team at August’s Cerebral Palsy (CP) World Games in Spain

Fabienne Andre (known as “Fabs”) of Saltdean, Brighton has been selected to swim for the GB Team at the CP World Games in Spain, this summer.

Fabienne will be joining other para-swimmers and athletes at a Cerebral Palsy showpiece event, and the challenge of intensive training and competing will be running alongside her studies, as she completes the second year of her physiotherapy degree, at Brunel University.

The games are not funded by a sporting body, so all athletes selected to represent the GB Team are required to raise a set amount of money to cover their flights, accommodation, training and specialised kit. Without these funds, Fabs will struggle to get onto the starting blocks and dive in to the competition. She has a target to hit of £2k which will, hopefully, cover everything.

In her usual style though, she is embracing the challenge totally, and has set up a Go Fund Me page, to reach as many potential sponsors as possible.

Fabs says: “Although I am studying physiotherapy at Brunel University, I drive home every weekend to train at local pools, diving in at just after 6 am!

Fabs started swimming at the relatively late age of 14, after a major operation on her leg to correct issues relating to her Cerebral Palsy

“Coming home to Brighton always puts a smile on my face. The support I am receiving from my community is really helping the fundraising and I am aiming to make everyone who has donated or sent a message of support really proud. The step up to World Games level is a big one, but I have never avoided challenges and I am aiming to swim at my maximum for all events I am entered into.”

Fabs started swimming at the relatively late age of 14, after a major operation on her leg to correct issues relating to her Cerebral Palsy, and it was noted she had a natural ability in the water.

Two years later, she had an official classification assessment, was designated specific classifications for different strokes, and was then free to race at certified events.

She has now swum for her club, Mid-Sussex Marlins, at local, county, regional, national and international levels, and the step up to the World Games is justifiable reward for the late finishes and morning swims, when the rest of the world is sleeping.

Para-swimmers and athletes have found a new level of acknowledgement and understanding of their sports in recent years, with a shift in the public’s perception to realise that they are elite athletes, in their chosen sport.

Details of how to contribute to Fabs’ Go Fund Me page are available here: www.gofundme.com/competing-in-the-cp-world-games