Dan's off to Dublin

9:46am Wednesday 14th February 2007

A GIFTED young swimmer is hoping to follow in his father's footsteps after being selected for the England team.

Dan Ruckwood, who is a pupil at Bromsgrove School, will be competing at the Four Nations Schools International in Dublin over March 9 and 11.

He is the son of Commonthwealth gold medal winner Adam Ruckwood, who raced to victory in 1994 in the 200 metres backstroke.

Dan will be swimming the 100m backstroke in Dublin which sees England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales battle it out in the pool.

This is Dan's chance to shine as the tournament is seen as a stepping stone to higher international events, with many of swimmers in the right age group to be considered for Great Britain's team from the London 2012 Olympics.

Geography teacher Claire Turner will be attending the tournament as one of England's coaches.

Dan, who is a member of the City of Birmingham team, won silver in the boys Year 13 100m freestyle at the Cheesestring ASA National Age Group Championships in 2006.

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