WISBECH swimmer Liam Knight topped off a fine National Youth Swimming Championships in Sheffield by picking up a silver medal.

The swimmer, who competes for the City of Peterborough Swimming Club, was only one of five 15 year old’s to win a medal in a group that also contained 16-year-old competitors.

Knight picked up second place in the 200m Backstroke with a time of 2:07:59 and also broke the East Region Long Course Record, set by Chris Walker-Hebborn who came ninth in last year’s World Championships, by almost a second.

The delighted teen said: “I was absolutely dead at the end of the competition but it was worth all the hard work.

“It’s my first medal at a national event and I was the only 15-year-old in my final. I set a few best times for myself but the highlight was definitely winning the silver medal.”

Knight also reached three other finals and improved his own 200m Individual Medley county record by 0.84 seconds during his gruelling but highly successful five-day period.

The swimmer, who started his career with Wisbech Swimming Club, has now been selected to complete the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence Program which stars in September. The scheme provides the hungry swimmer with a pathway to international success and the chance to have an England Talent officer as a personal mentor.

He said: “It’s all coming together nicely now after the years of hard work.

“I’ve got to keep myself motivated through the tough times and just want to keep getting better.”