WHEN Petts Wood swimmer Michael Gunning was younger, he had to be coaxed to the starting block for races.
Now he can hardly be kept away and last weekend clinched the top award for best 13-year-old boy in the county.
For a boy whose talent was obvious almost from his first swimming lesson when he was four, his progress has been phenomenal.
As well as competing at county, regional and national level, he has been identified as having Olympic potential by the London Regional Development Programme, which provides additional sessions to back up the training he does with Beckenham Swimming Club.
His swims at the Kent County championships over five weekends have yielded him seven gold medals, eight silvers and six bronzes.
In Sunday's 200m butterfly race he set a new county record of 2m16.18s and achieved a national age group qualifying time in the process.
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It was an outstanding swim in an event he clearly loves.
He said: "I was so nervous beforehand. I remember my coach telling me to enjoy it, but in my heart I knew I should do well.
"After 20 minutes of waiting I finally swam my race and felt fantastic.
"To be honest, I didn't feel like I went super fast, but when I hit the wall for my finish I was thrilled with the time.
"When I did finish all my friends, family and parents cheered and this is the best feeling in the world.
"A lot of my school friends think I don't really have much of a social life, but swimming is fantastic. It is really the very best thing in my life."
A total of 59 Beckenham swimmers took part in the championships, which were held in Bexleyheath and Gillingham.
Out of 458 races the club won 130 golds, 93 silvers and 75 bronzes as well as countless fourth, fifth and sixth place medals.
This year's outstanding tally helped it beat 24 other clubs in both the boys' and girls' events.
Michael clearly has his heart set on Olympic selection in either 2012 or 2016.
He said: "We go on training camps and they teach me about nutrition and how to relax before a big event.
"My dream is one day I will compete in the Olympics with my coach Tony Beckley there to cheer me on."
And according to Tony, its a dream that could become a reality:
He said: "It's rare to see this combination of determination, talent and sheer dedication and it's a winning combination which could clearly take him all the way.
"Michael never says never, so in truth his ambition knows no bounds."
The young hopeful is already spending up to 14 hours a week in the water, but according to his mum, Gillian, he'd train for longer if he could:
She said: "His coach has said to us that sometimes it's hard to get Michael out of the pool.
"When he was younger he didn't like competing in events as he wasn't confident in himself.
"As time has gone on, his confidence has grown as he has realised he has the ability to succeed."
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