Dave Roberts has won 11 Paralympic Gold Medals

"The National Lottery has made the world of difference to me, my life, the way I train and ultimately the success that I have had."

One of Britain's greatest paralympians, Roberts took his gold medal tally to 11 in Beijing last summer with four successes to add to the four from Athens in 2004 and three from Sydney in 2000.

Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when he was 11, he took up swimming as way of physiotherapy. Three years later he was competing for his country and so began the start of an amazing career. By 1999 he was representing Britain at the European Championships and at his first Paralympic Games in Sydney, he left with eight medals, with four silvers and a bronze to go alongside his three golds.

How highly he is thought of in his home country - and beyond - was shown earlier this year when he was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame at the same time as Welsh rugby legend JJ Williams.

The support of players of the National Lottery is clear to him every time he enters the pool at home. He trains at the 50-metre Wales National Pool in Swansea which was built with the input of £8 million of National Lottery funding by the Sports Council for Wales.

Roberts knows how vital National Lottery players have been to his cause: "The support I've had has meant that I can train hard six days a week. It's this hard work that has led to my being able to bring 11 gold medals back to the UK from the Paralympic Games."