Peter Leek

Nicknamed ‘Pipes’, swimmer Peter Leek is determined to make a mark for himself. Still only young, he has already built a reputation as a tough man to beat in the men’s S8 backstroke and butterfly.

Peter was born with cerebral palsy and began swimming at the age of eight as he was told it would help his disability. Since then he has never looked back, working hard and training five days a week.

In 2006, Peter made his mark on the swimming world, winning two gold, two silver and a bronze at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships. On top of this, he also holds the world record for the 50m butterfly short course, the 50m backstroke short course, the 200m backstroke short course and the 100m IM short course.

Peter sees his gold medal in the 100m backstroke at the IPC Swimming World Championships as both his finest career moment and one of his most embarrassing, ploughing into the wall head first during the race. Nothing however could tarnish his magnificent win.

Peter’s motto in life is to believe in yourself when others say your dream is impossible and you can do whatever you want. This is certainly true for his life as he trains for selection in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing and to be the number one in all his events.