LIBBY Clegg has made room for a lot of change and a lot of travelling over the past year – and insists the more her Paralympic preparations have an international flavour to them, the better.
Since May last year, Clegg has changed coach, seen her training group swell, made an appearance at the Olympic Stadium and has undertaken warm-weather training in South Africa and Portugal.
Clegg opened her account at the London Disability Athletics Challenge – part of the 2012 test event series – this week, finishing second in the multi-classification 100m and 200m races.
She was just beaten by the Paralympic and multiple world champion Terezinha Guilhermina of Brazil, a T11 category runner compared to Clegg, who is a global gold medallist in the T12.
They won't race each other in London this summer, but could meet again at the BT Paralympic World Cup later this month and Clegg, who will jet out to Spain before the event in Manchester, says that would be the perfect preparation for what lies ahead.
"The test event was my opening race of the season and the World Cup will be my second or third race. It will be nice to stretch my legs out and see how quick I can be – I also love international competition," said Clegg.
"There were some international guys at the test event and it is great to have had international competitions at the beginning of the season. I wasn't overly fussed about whether I got the chance to compete in the Olympic Stadium or not.
"As long as I know where the toilets and the call room are, that is good enough for me. The World Cup will be a good indication of where everyone else in the world is.
"The Brazilian girl in the T11 is really good and at the World Cup the classes are integrated. She is faster than me, but it is something to compare myself to.
"Racing against someone like her provides me with a great opportunity and it will be great to see what everyone else is up to and how they are doing."
Keith Antoine, Clegg's new coach, came out of retirement to guide her towards the Paralympics and has also taken on Richard Whitehead, another world champion, and Stef Reid, a Paralympic bronze medallist.
Clegg insists she is reaping the benefits of training in such company and under such a coach, even revealing her form over 200m is starting to rival that over 100m, the event she won world gold in last year.
"I don't want to peak too early this season because of the Paralympics coming up. I just want to see where I am and build on that, but the more races, the better for my body," she added.
"And at the moment the 200m has come on a lot. The 100m is still where I am strongest, but it is exciting to have the 200m coming through as well."
The BT Paralympic World Cup is taking place in Manchester from May 22-26 with elite athletes competing in athletics, 7-a-side football and wheelchair basketball. Visit btparalympic worldcup.com for tickets and more information
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