Amy Marren finished fourth in the S9 women's 400m freestyle

Marren’s Paralympic dream draws to a close

Hornchurch youngster Amy Marren proved herself as one to watch for the future at the London Paralympic Games.

Hall Mead pupil Marren, 14, set personal bests in all three of her events, reaching two finals, and might yet appear in the relay today (Friday).

And Marren admits she doesn’t want the 2012 Games to end.

Mum Jo said: “Amy has had such a great time and knows she has done well. She is absolutely over the moon and bouncing.

“She said to me ‘I don’t want it to end Mum’. She has gone there, with no expectations, and reached two out of three finals.

“She didn’t let herself down, what more could you ask for? This will get her ready for Rio.”

Marren’s journey began in the S9 women’s 100m backstroke last Friday, where she clocked one minute 14.21secs in her heat.

Another strong swim saw her finish fifth in the evening final and Marren returned to the Aquatic Centre on Tuesday to clock 4:53.04 in her 400m freestyle heat, finishing second behind British teammate Stephanie Millward.

Showing no sign of nerves, Marren went faster still in the final to clock 4:50.79 and finish fourth behind multi-champion Natalie du Toit, Millward and Australia’s Ellie Cole.

“The S9 is a really hard classification, with some real big guns,” added mum Jo.

“But Amy paced it and got a 4:50. Her entry time for the Games was 4:56!

“Ellie Cole said to Amy after ‘I’ll see you in Rio and you will beat me because you’re phenomenal’.

“And Steph Millward said it’s nice to know I’ve got such a fantastic swimmer behind me when I step down.”

Marren’s third and final outing came in the 50m freestyle on Wednesday, when she clocked a new best of 31.02secs but just missed out on another final appearance.

She will remain in the athletes village during the weekend and return home on Monday.

“It has been pretty amazing,” said Jo. “Amy has had a blast and doesn’t want it to end.”

Dad Andrew added: “The last six to eight months have been a rollercoaster, but when I saw Amy come out for the 100m backstroke final and wave to the crowd, it was almost as if the swimming was secondary.

“To come out and enjoy it that much is phenomenal and hopefully she will go from strength to strength.

“There’s a lot of hard work, good luck and good fortune involved and she has got to stay injury free and on top of her schooling, but if you put enough into a bank, you can take more out.”

Marren will have to readjust to her ‘normal’ life pretty quickly as she returns to school on Monday week.

But the family are so grateful for all the support she has received.

Andrew added: “It will be strange for all of us, but I’m looking forward to it as well.

“We’ll get our heads together again, take the positives and go forward. It has been brilliant.

“To see your name in print when you’re growing up and need buoying up, gives you so much confidence. It lifts them to go the extra yard.”