Gemma Spofforth, World Champion, World Record Holder, and a Girl Driven on by Tragedy.

Gemma Spofforth makes a point each day of reading a card her late mother sent to her six months before her death as she sits in her university digs in Gainesville, Florida and explains how she became Britain’s sole female world champion in Rome in the summer, breaking the 100 metres backstroke world record in the process in a swimsuit that put her at a disadvantage to everyone else.

“Keep smiling and the world will smile with you,” wrote Lesley Spofforth, who died from cancer in December 2007 at the tragically young age of just 49. “Keep swimming hard and take out all your frustrations on the water. You have found the place that makes you tick. Now just keep on ticking. Aim high, darling, and you’ll reach your dreams.”

Last August this is precisely what her daughter did, which is why she, alongside the likes of Michael Phelps and Rebecca Adlington, will be one of the star turns at the “Duel in the Pool” swimming meet in Manchester next Friday night and Saturday that pits a European team made out of the best from Britain, Germany and Italy against the best from America, including Michael Phelps.

The 22-year-old, originally from Portsmouth but now so settled in the United States collegiate system that she even possesses an American accent, is unrecognisable from the shattered girl who made it to the Beijing Olympics final last year only to finish fourth on the back of a series of sessions with a psychologist.

“My training distracted me and I was in denial in terms of my grief but after I qualified for the Games the grieving and depression hit me like a sledge hammer,” she admitted. “I would train, then go to my room and cry all night.

“After seeing a psychologist I managed to hold it together until the 100 metres final but after that I couldn’t get home quickly enough. It had hardly been the ideal preparation for an Olympics.”

A year later at the world championships, and after several more visits to an American psychologist, Gemma had turned her mother’s misfortune into a motivational tool.

“Mum sacrificed much of her life for me and our dream of becoming a swimming champion,” she explained. “She lived for my sport. Every day she’d drive three hours taking me backwards and forwards from home to the pool, to school, to the pool, and back to home.

“After she passed away my Dad came out to America to visit the psychologist with me and when I saw him cry for the first time in my life I realised it was OK to cry as well and that made a huge difference to the way I handled my grief after that.

“I now use Mum’s passing away as motivation. It’s made me a better swimmer and a stronger person because I feel as if there are two people inside me. I have taken my Mum’s strength and that’s why, just before the start of every race, I look up to the sky and say “Hi” to her. I feel her all around me. I’m convinced she still sees me race.”

Still, Emma was so nervous before the world final that she felt physically sick. “I was close to vomiting, for sure,” Gemma revealed.

“I was wearing the Speedo Lazer suit when all my rivals were in the quicker suits from Jaked, Arena and Adidas. The British coaches were suggesting I should change but I took the advice of my American coaches back in Florida who told me to stick with what I’m used to and most comfortable with.

“When I entered the call room just before the race all my nerves left me. I’d been scared at how fast I’d been going in training, but right then I knew I could go on and become world champion. My Mum was with me for those last 15 metres and when I touched and realised I’d not only become world champion but broken the world record I was filled with contrasting emotions. I was so happy for the feat and that I had realised our dream, but also so sad that I couldn’t see and share the moment with Mum.

“It’s obvious to me why I won. I’m at peace with myself for the first time in two years and I’m driven massively because I believe I’m on a mission for two people – myself and my Mum.”

The Duel in the Pool, in which we will see the last of the controversial swimsuits on those who choose to use them before they are all outlawed at the end of this month, gives Gemma the chance to remind us all how accomplished she has become as she takes on the rest of the best of America and Europe.

“I’ve not relied so much on the buoyancy of the other swimsuits so that should put me in good stead both for the Duel and, more importantly, the Commonwealth Games next year and, of course, the London 2012 Olympics,” she added. “It means the better swimmers should come to the fore and the winners rely more on their talent and hard work, and not the merits of their swimsuit.”

And, in Gemma Spofforth’s case, a frightening desire created by the saddest of family setbacks.�� �����