Gemma Spofforth, Shoreham

How did you get started?

Shoreham-born Spofforth began swimming at an early age, following her mother's lead, an accomplished athlete who swum competitively at university level. Gemma learnt to swim in her family's pool in Slindon before joining clubs at Littlehampton, Bognor and Portsmouth. She was never the best in the club, and it wasn't until she won gold at the European juniors aged 13 that she really began to show her world beating promise. Following her recovery from pancreatitis in 2005, she secured a sports scholarship to University of Florida in 2007. Within a year she'd narrowly missed out on a medal at Beijing, coming fourth in the 100m backstroke, her favoured discipline. In 2009 she took the world championship in a world record time of 58.12 – a record that still stands. The 24-year-old's life has been dogged by tragedy. She lost her mother to stomach cancer in 2007, and considered quitting the sport before qualification for London 2012 in March. "If I hand't done it, it would have been my last 100m ever," she told BBC Sport after a storming final length to win her qualifier in the Aquatic Centre.

Greatest sporting achievements

Current world record holder 100m backstroke

World championship gold, 100m backstroke, Italy 2009

European Championship gold, 100m backstroke 2010

Commonwealth Games silver, 100m backstroke 2010

GB record holder 50m backstroke

Prospects for 2012/16

As world record holder, Spofforth must be a contender for a medal in the 100m backstroke, but with a rocky lead-up – including a miserable World Championships in Shanghai, falling ill just before the meet – all eyes will be on the Aquatics Centre to see if she can achieve what everyone knows is possible. Spofforth is also a contender in the 50m freestyle and 200m backstroke.

Women's 100m backstroke: 29 July 10:00am (heats), 8:44pm (semifinals). 30 July 7:49pm (final)

http://www.london2012.com/swimming/event/women-100m-backstroke/index.html

Twitter: @GemmaSpofforth