Keri-Anne Payne

Sport: Swimming

Nation: Great Britain

DOB: December 9, 1987

Hometown: Heywood

Career Highlights: Marathon swimmer Keri-Anne Payne is a double world champion at the 10km open water and favourite to pick up gold in the event at London 2012. Born in South Africa to British parents, Payne started swimming at the age of four and first swam for Great Britain as a teenager at the European Short Course Championships in Vienna in 2004 - winning gold in the 400m freestyle. Failure to qualify for the 2006 Commonwealth Games prompted a move to open water swimming to guarantee funding, and Payne represented Great Britain both in the pool and in open water at her first Olympics, in Beijing. Unable to compete for the medals in the pool, she picked up silver in the marathon event, losing out on gold in the final hundred metres. A gold medal in the 10km at the 2009 World Championships in Rome cemented her place as one of the world’s leading long-distance swimmers, and she defended her title at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai to become the first British athlete in any sport to qualify for London 2012.

Olympic History: 2008