Published: Thursday, 28th August, 2008 2:45pm

Swimmer chases golden hat-trick in Beijing

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PARALYMPIAN Andrew Lindsay hopes to emulate the success of Beijing heroes such as Chris Hoy as he chases his own hat-trick of gold medals.

The 28-year-old InCAS swimmer is in China to compete in the 13th Paralympics after picking up medals in Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004).

Lindsay is part of a 36-strong GB swim team that will compete for medals in the same venues as the Olympic Games, which concluded at the weekend.

He won gold in the last two Paralympics but, for the first time in a decade, he"s not favourite for the S7 100 metres backstroke and is seeded third in the world.

A 16-year-old from Newquay, Jonathan Fox, took his world record although Lindsay recently beat the teenager in the Paralympics World Cup in Manchester.

He also has the belief he can win after going 10 years undefeated at World, European and Paralympic level in the S7 100m backstroke.

Lindsay will also compete in the 400m freestyle where he is ranked fourth in the world.

The InCAS swimmer, who lives in Cowdenbeath, said it"s likely to be his last Paralympics and he wants to go out with a bang in the National Aquatics Centre, otherwise known as the Water Cube.

Before heading to China, Lindsay said, 'Standing there on that podium with the gold medal around my neck would probably be one of the best feelings in life.'

The Paralympics takes place from the 6th to 17th September and the S7 100m backstroke final should be on the 10th.