Royal Blind supporter and former school pupil Libby Clegg sprinted to 100m silver medal glory at the Paralympics, smashing her personal best and vowing to upgrade it in four years time.

The 18-year old visually-impaired sprinter improved the British record in every round and it took Ukrainian double world champion Oxana Boturchuk running the second fastest time in Paralympic history to beat her. Following her medal win Libby has been showered with praise by the people who knew her as a young sprinter. Libby was diagnosed with the deteriorating eye condition Stargardt’s disease when she was nine, but her commitment to training with the Harriers didn’t falter and she set off with a sprinting start to take silver in the 200m at the World Championships when she was just 16.

Her pals at St Albans Primary School knew sprinting was for her when she used to win all the races on sports day. Libby’s schoolfriend Rowena Evans, 17, of Hambell Way, said: "Libby was always better than everyone else at running when we were at school and never felt sorry for herself."

Rowena’s dad Andy, 46, who was a family friend of the Cleggs, said: "Libby always seemed like the sort of person who would do well and although she was losing her sight, she never had any self pity.  She was very good with my son Alex when he was little and I always admired her."

The talented sprinter had the race of her life in the Paralympics when she bagged second place – slicing a quarter of a second off her personal best and setting a new British record with a time of 12.51 seconds. Her Stargardt’s disease means she has only slight peripheral vision in her left eye and is registered blind, but with her guide runner, retired international sprinter Lincoln Asquith, by her side, Libby came in just behind the winner. The gold went to double world champion Oxana Boturchuk who ran the second fastest time in Paralympic history. Bob Lynch, of Macclesfield Harriers, said: "I used to run with Libby as a guide and knew from the beginning she was committed.  She was never fearful of what she was going into.  We treated her just the same as anyone else in the club and she succeeded through her own determination."

Libby, who left Macclesfield to attend the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh, said: "It was a very fast race but I had been training to speed up at the end and that’s what I did. It was a once in a lifetime experience so I stayed relaxed and tried to enjoy myself. My family and friends were there and it was nice to know that there were people shouting for me."

Libby is back at home with her family in the Scottish Borders and is now training professionally for the 2012 Olympics.

’I’m looking forward to the rematch in London,’" she added.