Blind Paralympian prepares to attempt Channel swim. blind_girl_swims / Instagram

Paralympic gold medallist Melanie Barratt is preparing to become the first blind woman to swim across the English Channel.

Melanie Barratt, from Leamington Spa, a spa town in Warwickshire, England, is seeking new challenges in her sporting career, including becoming the first blind woman to swim the English Channel.

The Paralympic swimmer, who won two gold, two silver and one bronze swimming medals at the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, is also believed to be the first blind person to swim across Lake Geneva.

Her swim across the channel, which separates England from France, will be nearly 34km and will take place between 27 August and 1 September, with an expected time of around 14 hours.

Melanie Barratt won five medals at the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. blind_girl_swims / Instagram
Melanie Barratt won five medals at the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. blind_girl_swims / Instagram

The swimmer said she always enjoys a challenge and considers the Channel to be the Everest of swimming.

As well as personal satisfaction and a test of endurance, the swim will raise funds for British Blind Sport, a UK charity that makes sport and recreation accessible to people with visual impairments.

For her cross-channel attempt, Ms Barratt will swim alongside a boat, using bone-conducting headphones to receive instructions from her team. "I always like a challenge in life and this has turned out to be quite a big one and I haven't even swum it yet," she told BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.

Barratt was born with congenital toxoplasmosis (a fetal infection caused by the transplacental transmission of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy), a rare condition that left her with severe visual impairment, able to see only colours and shapes.

Melanie Barratt will swim nearly 34km. blind_girl_swims / Instagram
Melanie Barratt will swim nearly 34km. blind_girl_swims / Instagram

According to the BBC, she booked the swim two years ago and said there would be elements completely out of her control. "The weather, the waves, many, many factors that I just have to deal with on the day and hope that they go in my favour. Plus the jellyfish, there could be thousands of them.

If she completes the swim successfully, she could become the first blind woman to swim the English Channel. She first learnt to swim with British Blind Sport. "Then I found my love of the water and did well at the Paralympics, and without them I would never have achieved that. I want to give something back to them.