Welbourn moves from Iceland to Rio de Janeiro

Swimming ace Rob Welbourn will swap Iceland for Rio's Copacabana beach next month as he targets more golden glory.

The Lincoln Vulcans star has just returned from the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, where he won five medals, including two golds, at the European Disability Championships.

Welbourn, who was suffering from a heavy cold in the lead-up to the prestigious event, admits his medal haul was above his pre-championship expectations.

But after confirming his standing as one of the top disabled swimmers in Europe, the Market Deeping swimmer will head to Brazil at the end of November to take part in the IPC World Short Course Championships.

Having learnt his trade in 25m pools during his early days in Lincoln with the Vulcans, more medal glory is on the cards for Welbourn.

"I went to Rio last year for an invitational meet, so I'm looking forward to going back," said Welbourn, who is based at British Swimming's High Performance Centre in Swansea.

"I'm staying in a hotel right on the Copacabana beach.

"I'm planning to swim the 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle and 400m freestyle, 50m freestyle and, depending on my performances, a couple of relay events.

"I like swimming short course. Obviously, when I was training in Lincoln, that's all we had.

"And where I am based now, Swansea, we train short course twice a week."

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