Teenager Simmonds is eager to deliver in front of partisan crowd

Simmonds became the British darling of the 2008 Games, when aged 13, she won two Paralympic gold medals in Beijing’s Water Cube.

In the four years since, Simmonds has completed her GCSEs, learned to drive and added four world and two European titles to her list of honours and on Saturday’s third day of the XIV Paralympics, the 17-year-old from Walsall will open her London 2012 campaign in the S6 400m freestyle.

“I’m really looking forward to competing in front of a home crowd, having friends, family cheering us on,” Simmonds said.

“I’m so excited and really looking forward to walking out of the call room and everyone cheering for GB.

“It’s pressure that people are expecting me to get a gold medal and retain my titles, but I’ve got a great support group around me. My coach Billy Pye, my psychologist, my friends and family are all supporting me.

“So far I’ve dealt with pressure. The World Championships I swam great and at the Europeans I swam well as well.

“A positive side of it is that people are watching me and that gives me support, a bit of drive, knowing that people are wanting me to do the best I can.”

There are pros and cons to coping with expectation, but Simmonds sees other advantages to a home Games, having been able to travel from her home in Swansea, where she trains under the tutelage of former miner Pye, to Manchester for a training camp and on to London.

“It’s an advantage in not flying away,” she said. “I haven’t had to have a luggage limit, which is a great thing.”

Simmonds, who has Achondroplasia (dwarfism), admits to feeling nervous ahead of her second Games, but is desperate for the racing to begin.

“Beijing feels like yesterday, really,” said Simmonds, who is also set to compete in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 200m individual medley.

“At 13 it was all quite exciting, I was quite young. At 17 I’m getting more mature.”

Simmonds knows it is far from a formality that she will retain her 100m and 400m freestyle crowns, with new rivals emerging as she did four years ago.

In June, Victoria Arlen of the United States lowered Simmonds’s 400m freestyle world record to 5 minutes 24.46 seconds.

She added: “It’s going to be very tough but I’m just going to go out there and swim the best that I can, hope for a personal best.”