Rick Pendleton loves being the underdog as he believes even coal under pressure becomes a diamond. It is this attitude that pushes Rick as he trains for swimming glory.

Rick was born missing his left hand. He was once a footballer before he tore ligaments in both knees, ending his career. Since moving to swimming, he hasn’t looked back.

Rick comes from a large family where sport plays a major part in his life. He competed at the 2004 Athens Paralympics where he finished fourth by 0.07 of a second in the 100m breaststroke, which he believes is his lowest sporting moment. The 2006 IPC World Swimming Championships in South Africa proved more fruitful with a silver in the 200m individual medley and bronze in the 100m breaststroke. In Beijing, Rick won a gold medal and smashed the world record in the 200m individual medley and won a second gold in the 4x100m medley relay. His Beijing campaign was his most successful and he was both happy and relieved he performed to his best after four years of hard work.

Rick looks up to Kieran Perkins in the swimming world but outside swimming his mum is his greatest hero. He will continue professional swimming and is looking to compete at the World Short Course Championships in 2009, the 2010 World Championships and the 2012 London Games.