A pupil at a Worcestershire school is set for international swimming success in the 2011 World Championships.
Dan Ruckwood, an 18 year old from Bromsgrove School in Worcestershire, has qualified for the World Championship trials in the men's 200m backstroke. The trials are due to take place in March 2011, ahead of the Championships in Shanghai in July. This is a first for Dan and the School, and a huge achievement for one so young.
Dan has an impressive record including training with the Olympic Development Team and consistent appearances at top national competitions. He has also earned two England Schools caps through representing the England Schools National Swimming Team in two Four Nations International competitions. Dan’s continued success at national level has marked him as a top level performer with his sights set on the Olympics in 2012, 2016 and the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
Dan is currently in the Lower Sixth at Bromsgrove School studying for A levels in PE, Geography and Biology. Bromsgrove School is keen to enable talented sports performers to pursue their sport to the highest possible level and Dan has a flexible timetable which allows him to train on a regular basis with the City of Birmingham Swimming Club. Dan aims to take a gap year on finishing the Sixth Form to concentrate further on his swimming.
Dan is the son of Commonwealth gold medal winner Adam Ruckwood, who raced to victory in 1994 in the 200m backstroke. Hopes are high that Dan can follow in his father’s footsteps with success in the same event.