By David Gold

Teresa Perales_July_12July 12 - Teresa Perales and Sarai Gascon are among the leading athletes selected to represent Spain in swimming at this summer's Paralympic Games.


Perales (pictured above) will compete in her fourth Paralympic Games, having won three gold medals at Beijing 2008.

She also took two golds at Athens in 2004.

After taking time out to have a child, Perales returned to action last July winning eight medals at the European Championships in Berlin.

Gascon claimed one silver medal in Beijing four years' ago at her Paralympics debut.

She won four gold medals at the European Championships last year, and will be a key medal contender this summer.

Swimmers make up the largest group of athletes representing Spain.

European champions Roger Puigbo Verdaguer (pictured below, right) and Joan Munar Martinez are included in the 24-strong athletics delegation.

Roger Puigbo_Verdaguer_JUly_12
At the age of just 16, Martinez, who won gold at last month's European Athletics Championships in the 100 metres and 200m T13 events, is the youngest member of the Spanish squad.

Verdaguer won three gold medals at the European Championships in Stadskanaal, the Netherlands, in the 400m and 800m T53 distances, as well as silver in the 5,000m T54.

Other leading Spanish contenders for glory include the table tennis squad of Jordi Morales Garcia, Jose Manuel Ruiz Reyes and Alvaro Valera.

A total of 142 athletes will compete for Spain, who are hoping to win 60 medals and rank in the top 10 of the medal standings this summer.

Spain won 15 gold, 21 silver and 22 bronze medals in Beijing.

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