STEPHANIE Millward has vowed to come back stronger after being forced to pull out of her World Para Swimming European Championship qualifier at the weekend suffering with fatigue.

Millward, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis as a teenager, used her experience to not risk worsening her condition by returning home prematurely after suffering with severe tiredness in the days building up to the qualifying meet in Sheffield.

While returning home frustrated, the 36-year-old's desire to compete remains undimmed despite seeing her hopes of competing in August's European Championships in Dublin ended.

“I wasn’t very well, so I had to call it quits and come home early which was a real pain,” she said.

“The MS was messing around, it’s a nuisance. You prepare for the race and when I arrived I thought there’s no point me being here.

“I chose to go home, get better, and come back out ready to race in the next competition.”

It capped a frustrating few months for Millward, whose competitive racing time has been restricted due to severe weather in the countries she has been due to compete in.

An earthquake in Mexico City in the build up to her appearance at the IPC World Championships last September ended hopes of her competing there before heavy snow in the UK cancelled an open competition.

Despite her setbacks, Millward remains determined to perform well on the global stage and already has one eye on the next Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

The nine-time Paralympic medallist added: “I’ve obviously pushed my body too hard beforehand and it’s decided not to work in my favour.

“I’m glad it’s happened now and not at the Paralympics.

“My swimming has been good considering how bad I’ve felt.

“I’ll keep on training and getting stronger in all of the events that I like doing.

“I like to do all of the events, so I’ll be working on all of those while enjoying it.”

The Box-based swimmer also hopes her story can inspire the next generation of Paralympic athletes by delivering a series of talks and presentations to the younger generation.

Living with MS, working part-time and fitting in time to train proves more strenuous than it would for most for Millward.

But she admits experience has helped her to take necessary rest days when needed.

“It’s not easy, but I’ve had MS for 20 years now so I’ve learnt how to listen to my body and make sure when I’ve overworked something I have to slow down the day after,” said Millward.

“I also love inspiring others, young and old.

“They think that anybody who has done anything amazing, like go to the Paralympics, is incredible.

“They listen to the stories and wonder how on earth people can achieve things despite their barriers, it’s inspiration overload.

“It encourages them to be the best they can be and to achieve all of their dreams, it gives them that extra boost that sometimes people need.

“I love it whenever people come back and say ‘I did this because of what you said’ or something along those lines.

“That is the best for me.”