As the London 2012 Paralympic Games draw ever closer, athlete Jon-Allan Butterworth has taken his training to the next level to ensure he achieves his goal of winning a gold medal.

The start of 2012 will see the world record-breaker undertake a period of intensive training before competing in the Paracycling World Championship in California in February, with the full support of sponsor AKW.

The partnership with independent living solutions provider AKW will also see Jon-Allan launch a ‘design a mascot’ campaign with local schools in Worcestershire, as well as continue to provide weekly updates to AKW’s Twitter and Facebook pages. Titled ‘Takeover Tuesday’, these will document Jon-Allan’s training progress and thoughts on his upcoming competitions. An auction to raise money for Jon-Allan’s chosen charity Help For Heroes is also planned for early summer.

The Paralympic contender, who lost his left arm while serving in Iraq in 2007, commented: “This year is obviously a big one for me, and I am determined to achieve my goals of becoming a Paralympic champion. Backed by the partnership with AKW, I am excited about the opportunities I have in front of me this year.”

Jon-Allan has only been cycling professionally since 2009 but has already amassed a number of high profile achievements, with career highlights to date including a British record in the 4km Individual Pursuit and a World record in the 1km Time Trial.