Sophia Warner is a T35 100m and 200m Paralympian and is currently ranked number 1 in Europe and number 2 in the world. She has suffered with Cerebral Palsy from birth and began sprint training form the age of 19.

Her first medal came at the World Championships in 1998 where she won gold in the 100m. As strong medal hopeful for Great Britain and mother of two, Sophia trains for 30 hours a week. This dedication was recognised last year when she was awarded ‘Disabled Sports Personality of the Year’ at the Sussex Sports Awards.

Sophia has recently secured the position of Commercial Director for UK Athletics following London 2012 – a great outcome for her dedication after she gave up work over as a marketing director over a year ago to focus on training for the London 2012 Games.

How are you preparing for London 2012? What does it mean to be an Paralympian athlete?

Sophia Warner answers these questions and more in this exclusive interview:

5 Things Sophia is Doing to Prepare for the 2012 Olympics:

I am doing a lot of speed work on the track and strength work in the gym. I am also organising and planning family movements as I have 2 young children and will be away from them for 6 weeks.

I am also working on hard to mentally prepare myself. I like to read a lot and am keeping as busy as possible. I grow all my own vegetable and I like to tend to my garden. We lead a very active family life.

What does “Being Technogym Wellness Ambassador” mean to you?

It means two things really. As a Paralympic athlete I am delighted to be associated with a brand who understands, encourages and facilitates sport and fitness for all and strives to achieve sporting excellence.

Secondly it has changed my everyday life by enabling me to juggle my training with my family life by providing me with a stats of the art home gym. It means I can work around their school hours. It is a great partnership for me.

What Technogym kit do you use and train on?

I have cerebral Palsy and am a triplegic. I use the multi-power which allows me to build strength with stability, I use Arke to help me improve my balance and core strength and for my Physio.

I also use the group cycle at the end of each day for a steady pace for an hour or I sometimes do my track session on the bike depending on the English weather!

What does being a Paralympic athlete mean to you?

I’m an athlete who happens to have a disability. I want to compete and race, and performance is what matters to me. I hope the Paralympics creates a better understanding of disability sport in the UK. If it creates awareness of both the limitations as well as the potential that someone with cerebral palsy has then it will have opened doors.

The fact that I have been appointed as Commercial Director of UKA post games is a direct example of increased acceptance and understanding in our country.

A true role model and inspiration to others, Sophia Warner and her determination has resulted in many successes. Make sure to watch this inspiring sprinting star on television as she battles for medals at the Paralympic Games!

Good luck to Sophia and the rest of her team this upcoming July! Follow Sophia on her Twitter profile, on her Facebook Page and on her website.

Did you miss Tim Morehouse’s interview on the Wellness Blog? Read it now.