SWINDON’S Craig Harris says swimming in the London 2012 pool as part of this year’s National Paralympic Day only makes him more determined to fulfil his dream of making Rio 2016.

Harris travelled down to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Saturday to take part in a Great Britain versus Europe head-to-head in the pool for the 2014 National Paralympic Day celebrations.

It was the first time that the London Aquatics Centre had hosted international swimming since the 2012 Paralympics and Harris certainly made sure to enjoy the experience in front of a home crowd.

The 15-year-old finished third in the 200m medley and Harris believes he couldn’t have asked for a better venue to begin his season with the Rio Paralympics now just two years away.

“I missed out on the Paralympics in 2012 because I was only just on the senior team at that point. But this has given me a glimpse of what a Paralympic atmosphere is like,” said Harris.

“Rio 2016 is definitely in my mind and this was a great stepping stone. It wasn’t a bad performance from me out there – it was about the best I could hope for after coming back from my break and not having had any training.

“I put in quite a good time and it was a good race overall – it was just nice to get back in the pool after my summer break.”

He added: “It was a fun day and it’s great to raise awareness of disability sport. It shows that disabled sport is just as fun as able-bodied sport.”

National Paralympic Day aims to promote Paralympic sport across the UK, giving people the opportunity to relive the wonder of 2012 and to support Paralympic sports and athletes. #NPD2014 is supported by the Spirit of 2012 Trust. Visit Paralympics.org.uk/npd2014