Penrith’s Kara Leo may describe herself as loveable, caring and kind but in the pool she is fiercely competitive and driven to succeed.

Amidst the many medals in Kara’s swag, her proudest moment was winning gold in the 50m backstroke at the 2007 INAS-FID Swimming World Championships. She went on to win four more gold, four silver and a bronze medal at the same meet, quickly becoming the girl to beat.

In 2009, Kara won a further five gold, four silver and one bronze at the Global Games and hopes she can repeat her outstanding performance when she steps up to the block for the 200m freestyle at the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven.

Inspired by the pure enjoyment she gets from swimming, Kara hopes for a lifelong career in the sport, with plans to become a swimming instructor once she has finished competing.