CLAIRE Cashmore is on the eve of her fourth Paralympic Games, but that doesn’t mean the Worcestershire swimmer is taking her eyes off next week’s BUCS Nationals.

The 27-year-old will be representing Northumbria University in Sheffield between February 19 and 21 after previously swimming for Leeds University at the largest annual multi-sport event in the UK.

And confidence will be high with Cashmore coming off the back of a successful 2015 in which she won three IPC Swimming World Championship medals, including a gold in the 4x100m medley freestyle relay.

With Rio 2016 on her mind, Cashmore, who was born without a left forearm, is intent on taking any and every opportunity to hone her skills in the run-up to her fourth Games appearance.

“Being able to go to BUCS is really important for us to see where I am with things,” she said. “Unfortunately we don’t really get that many chances to go up against high-level competition.

“We train nine times a week and the only reason we do that is to be able to race and so to be given the opportunity is fantastic.

“I will definitely be taking it seriously. We have limited opportunities so when you get them you have to make sure you do everything like you would at the Paralympic Games. Even though it’s not quite the same you have to treat every competition the same.”

“I think there is always really good competition at BUCS. The standard and the professionalism of all the athletes is always high.”

The BUCS Nationals is the UK’s largest annual multi-sport event and has been a building block in the careers of many professional athletes.

The competition takes place at a range of venues across the city of Sheffield between February 19 and 21 and London, 2012, Olympian Aimee Willmott and Commonwealth bronze medallist Bianca Williams are among those who are scheduled to compete this year.

The annual event will be Cashmore’s first competitive racing of the season and she sees it as an important stepping stone towards her ultimate goal.

“It’s all about Rio. Everything else is preparation towards that. I’ve got the Europeans in May so we’ve got trials for Rio at the end of April,” she added.

“I’ve been doing times in training that I haven’t done before, so that’s really exciting.”

British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the national governing body for Higher Education (HE) sport in the UK, representing more than 150 institutions. Covering 52 sports, BUCS aids grass roots participation.