Pascoe set to head New Zealand challenge at IPC Swimming World Championships

Sophie Pascoe won four golds at the 2013 World Championships in Montreal and will be hoping for similar success in Glasgow ©Getty Images

Six-time Paralympic gold medallist Sophie Pascoe has been named to lead an eight-strong New Zealand team at this year's International Paralympic Committee Swimming World Championships in Glasgow.

The 22-year-old has already tasted success at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre, where the event is due to take place from July 13 to 19, having earned two titles there at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

She heads to the Scottish city in excellent form having set two world records at the Swimming New Zealand Open Championship and will be hoping to replicate her success in the 2013 edition in Montreal, where she claimed four golds.

Montreal saw New Zealand finish fourth on the overall medals table having claimed their biggest ever medal haul, including 12 golds.

With six members of the 2013 squad due to compete in Glasgow, Jon Shaw, head performance coach of swimming at Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ), believes the country could enjoy another successful Championships.

“We have got a very strong team with great depth of experience and enthusiasm,” he said.

“They have shown amazing form in the pool this week and we believe we have a high chance of medal success in Glasgow.”

The New Zealand team for the IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, includes a mix of experience and youth as they look to replicate their achievements in 2013 ©BW Media

Joining Pascoe in the squad are Mary Fisher, who earned five golds in Montreal, and Nikita Howarth, with both swimmers recording times in their favoured events at the Swimming NZ Open Championships that will see them ranked number one in the world at Glasgow.

Rebecca Dubber, Jesse Reynolds and Cameron Leslie will also compete at the World Championships, and are set to be joined by Georgia Gray and Hamish McLean, who will be making their debut at the competition.

“In 2012 PNZ developed a strategy with the intent of being a world leader in the sport of Para-swimming,” said Malcolm Humm, high performance director of PNZ.

“We set a goal to produce more athletes who would reach the level required to achieve medal winning performances at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

“With the performance of the likes of Hamish McLean and Georgia Gray we believe we are tracking well towards this goal due to athletes being recipients of high quality coaching and support services from High Performance Sport New Zealand.”