#100daystogo: Mullen urges home crowd support

“Having a big crowd there will be a massive support for the GB swimmers,” Mullen said. “It will spur us onto medals.”

Later this year, the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow, Great Britain, will host some of the greatest swimming talents in the world for the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships from 13-19 July.

A year on from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and with tickets on sale now, spectators will have the opportunity to see some of the biggest names in para-sport in action including Great Britain’s Ellie Simmonds, Brazil’s Daniel Dias, the USA’s Jessica Long and Canadian Benoit Huot who have a raft of Paralympic and world titles between them.

One of the star attractions for the local crowd will undoubtedly be Glasgow boy and four-time European champion Andrew Mullen, who is going for his first world titles.

Mullen believes that Glasgow 2015 will be “great fun” and with around 650 swimmers from 50 countries set to descend on the city for a whole week packed with exciting action, it is a great chance to see famous names up close. Tickets are available from as little as GBP 10/15 for heats/finals, whilst day, weekend and competition passes are also available with children under 16 going free (terms and conditions apply).

Live para-sport events have a reputation for giving fans a unique insight into their favourite athletes and the Worlds will be no exception. Remember the atmosphere inside the Aquatics Centre at London 2012 as Simmonds swan to her second gold, or at Tollcross during the Commonwealth Games?

This is a view that is also shared by 18-year-old Mullen, who will swim in the S5 classification.

“It’ll be great to watch and really exciting,” he said.

Maybe that is because no less than 18 British medal hopes have been named to the team for the World Championships as well as the US and Canadian rosters, three of the most prolific swimming countries.

Amongst them is the USA’s Bradley Snyder whose compelling victory in 2012 exactly one year after he lost his eyesight whilst on duty for the US Navy in Afghanistan was one of the headlines of the Games.

There is also the exciting rivalry between Canada’s nine-time Paralympic champion Huot and three-time reigning world champion Brazilian Andre Brasil in the men’s S10 events.

As Brasil prepares to compete in front of his own home crowds at Rio 2016, he will be looking to put in some stunning performances as he tests himself against his rival just over one year away from the next Paralympic Games.

As well as the excitement inside Tollcross, Mullen believes that visitors and viewers will also be impressed by the setting.

“It'll be great if we could be able to showcase the people of Glasgow and their support again,” he said.

Recently named as ‘the friendliest city in the world’ in a Rough Guides poll, the city impressed on an international stage during the Commonwealth Games. With huge crowds every day during the swimming events creating an electric atmosphere, the locals showed their support for major sporting events on their doorstep and Mullen believes that could lead to great success.

“Having a big crowd there will be a massive support for the GB swimmers,” he said. “It will spur us onto medals.”

Tickets for Glasgow 2015 are available at Ticketmaster.

Heats begin at 10:00 (GMT) every day and finals at 18:00.