Athletics: Much more to come from sprinter Libby

EDINBURGH sprinter Libby Clegg insists she barely scratched the surface of what she is capable of this year at the BT Paralympic World Cup despite claiming 100 metre gold.

The 20-year-old retained her title in Manchester, clocking 13.25 seconds to finish 0.16sec ahead of Spaniard Eva Ngui and a further 0.19sec in front of fellow Brit Tracey Hinton.

Clegg feared she wouldn't be able to compete at the Paralympic World Cup, now in its sixth year, after suffering shin splints at the turn of the year.

But, after overcoming the injury to top the podium in Manchester, Clegg – who won Paralympic 100m silver in 2008 – has vowed to hit greater heights before the year is out.

"I am really pleased with winning gold – the World Cup is my first main competition of the year so to run the way I did was great," she said.

"I have raced against Eva a few times in the past and we do have a bit of a rivalry, it is always nice to win any race but when the competition is this strong it is even more pleasing.

"It shows I am making progress and improving all the time – even after the injury I had over the winter. It's frustrating when you are injured but over the last eight weeks since I have been back, my training has been going well.

"I feel good now and I know I can get quicker for the rest of the season. It is still early days and this is a good start for me and I have to build on it."

Clegg crossed the line nearly a second shy of her 100m personal best of 12.51sec set on the way to silver at the Beijing Paralympics in Manchester.

And she'll need to clock 12.60sec to qualify for next year's World Championships.

She said: "The World Championships are a big target for me – I desperately want to get the time and I think if I keep running like I know I can then it is achievable to qualify," she added. "The qualifying time is very tough and I am going to have to run fast but I am confident I can do it.

• The BT Paralympic World Cup is taking place from 25-31 May and features the world's leading international Paralympic athletes in Athletics, Football 7-a-side, Swimming and Wheelchair Basketball. The supporting partners are Northwest Regional Development Agency and Manchester City Council. www.btparalympicworldcup.com