The event at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, titled the Visa London Disability Athletics Challenge, will be the last test event to take place before the start of London 2012, with more than 200 athletes from almost 50 nations around the world set to compete in it.

Around half of those athletes are British and many will be targeting Paralympic Games qualifying standards in what is predicted to be a fast track.

Cockroft (pictured above and below) is set to be one of the stars at the event as she heads into the London 2012 Paralympics as a major gold medal contender and she admitted that she cannot wait to return to the completed Olympic Stadium, which she visited during the construction stage in 2010.

"My last visit was nearly two years ago when the stadium was just a shell," said the 19-year-old from Halifax.

"There were no seats and there wasn't even a track back then, but it was still a pretty amazing place to be."

"I just can't wait to get into the stadium and see how much it has changed.

"I've seen photos of it and some coverage on television, but nothing is going to give the same effect as actually getting out on the actual track where I'll either make or break my career in four months' time.

"This test event really is a once in a lifetime opportunity to race on the track where I could potentially win a Paralympic gold medal, so I'm grabbing the opportunity with both hands.

"I know the stadium won't be full, but I'm sure we'll get the same sensation; whether you're performing in front of one person or one million people, the same pressure is there to perform.

"People have expectations now and I'm working hard to make sure I deliver."


Cockroft has already got her year off to a flying start and reduced her own T34 400 metres world best with a time of 59.99sec at the Sydney Track Classic in Australia in February.

She has gone quicker with a time of 58.59 but not in an International Paralympic Committee (IPC) ratified event.

However, Cockroft says she is now focused the Visa London Disability Athletics Challenge and hopes that her early season hard work will pay off.

"I've spent a lot of this year on warm weather training camps to make sure I'm in the best shape possible for the upcoming season and everything is looking pretty positive," she said.

"I spent January and February out in Australia at the Summer Down Under race series which was a great experience for me as I got to spend some quality training time with my coach Peter Eriksson [the UK Athletics Paralympic head coach] and our new wheelchair coach on the team, Kelly Smith.

"I then spent most of March at our Aviva warm weather camp with my idol Chantal Petitclerc as a coach, mentor and training partner.

"With 2012 hopefully being my first Paralympic Games, all of their combined experience is just what I need to get prepared for the biggest event of my life."

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