Loughborough Grammar School boy, Niklas, is set to compete in the British Summer Championships in July this year.

Niklas, Year 10,  has been promoted to the A-squad in his swimming club, Nova Centurion and is getting to grips with his new training regime.

Loughborough Grammar School are supporting Niklas to accommodate his additional training sessions, which include land training, encompassing strength work and stretching, alongside his pool training.

This level of swimming success cannot be met without hard work, meaning that the number of sessions he is required to train has increased to up to eight times a week. His timetable also includes early morning training, meaning a few days a week his alarm is set for 4.45am!

Niklas started swimming when he was three years old, and dipped his toe into competitive swimming when he was nine, after being inspired by his brother, who swam competitively.

All the hard work is clearly paying off as Niklas is currently 16^th in the UK for 100m breaststroke, 3^rd in England for 200m breaststroke and 12^th in England for 400m individual medley.

Niklas said: “My brother inspired me to start swimming competitively; I followed in his footsteps and have now overtaken him! I really enjoy the swimming competitions. I not only find them fun, but they’ve also helped me to cope better under pressure.”

Keeping his energy levels fully fuelled are Niklas’ parents with plenty of home-cooked pasta dishes, with the favourite being Caprese, a mouth-watering combination of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil!

Well done Niklas!