Sport: Swimming

Career highlights: Placing fourth at the World Championships in Sevilla and meeting the qualification criteria for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008

Biggest career disappointment: Swimming into the first buoy during my Olympic 10km Open water race and losing my cap and due to this placing only 16th after having set my sights on placing top five

Career ambition: To qualify for the 800m freestyle in the pool at the 2012 London Olympics as well as placing in the top three, in the 10km open water

Other ambitions: The World Championships was a stepping stone in reaching the Olympic and Paralympic Games… Olympics was my dream from the age of 6 as an able bodied athlete… Paralympics became my dream after my accident

Where do you live? Johannesburg

Role models? Yes, Lance Armstrong. He was willing to sacrifice everything to achieve his Tour de France dreams

Your training? At the moment I spend six hours a day in the swimming pool and about two hours in the gym

Day to day? Stay as healthy as possible and never do too much of anything

Day job: Motivational speaking to young and old, rich and poor. Charity work

Your mottos? The tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals, the tragedy of life lies in not having goals to reach for.
It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars but it is a disgrace not to have stars to reach for, so, aim high, dream big dreams and remember Everything is possible if you can just believe

Favourite book? Lance Armstrong – It’s Not About The Bike