Gold-medal winning Leamington Paralympian Melanie Barratt will speak at a free national online event hosted by the National Paralympic Heritage Trust (NPHT) next month.

Melanie is a blind swimmer who has had an outstanding career in competitive sports.

She has represented Great Britain at multiple Paralympic Games, winning gold, silver and bronze medals in the pool.

Ad she has also won multiple European and World titles, setting eight world records.

Photos of Melanie Barratt. Pictures supplied.

placeholder image — Photos of Melanie Barratt. Pictures supplied.

But she did not stop there.

After trying out judo, rowing, tandem cycling and triathlon, in 2008, she became the World Paratriathlon Champion.

Melanie has been making waves again, crossing Lake Windermere solo and swimming the length of Lake Geneva as part of an all-female relay team.

She also made history last year as the first blind woman to swim the English Channel, completing 21-miles in an astounding 12 hours and 20 minutes.

Melanie now has her own swim school and is working to enable more disabled people to access the open water and hopes that her story will inspire others to push their own boundaries and achieve their dreams.

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In the online event, which takes place on Friday March 21, attendees will hear Melanie’s remarkable story, have the chance to pose their own burning questions and end the week motivated by the message that with determination, anything is possible.

Schools and home-educated children (key stages 1 and 2) can speak to Melanie from 11am at https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/Event/meet-paralympic-swimmer-melanie-barratt

Adults and Teenagers (key stage 3 and above), can speak to her at 1pm, https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/Event/meet-paralympian-melanie-barratt

British sign language (BSL) interpreters will be used for both.