A YOUNG member of Gravesend & Northfleet Swimming Club has recently been selected for the pentathlon GB world class talent programme.

John Allen, 15, took up the modern Pentathlon only 14 months ago and was selected after being invited to a series of talent identification weekends over the winter.

The world class talent programme is designed to support the identification of athletes who have the potential to progress through the world class pathway with the aim of producing athletes with Olympic medal potential.

It is expected these athletes will have the right attributes to go on and compete effectively on the world stage.

The modern pentathlon consists of swimming, running, fencing, shooting and horse riding.

Allen’s selection follows his successes last year when he won the Latvian national youth tetrathlon (no riding) in Riga and came fourth in August’s British youth pentathlon championships for his age group.

This was the first time Allen had ridden in competition and he managed a clear round and he aims to better that position this year.

Allen has also enjoyed success swimming with GNSC and is the current holder of the Gravesham borough swimming championships’ 25m and 100m freestyle titles for his age group and men’s 200m freestyle.

He also recently swam in the Kent secondary schools competition representing Gravesend Grammar School, where he won the 200m individual medley.

Allen will now swim for the Kent team in their annual match against Surrey this month but his next big competition is the final of the British schools biathlon championships (run and swim).

He qualified for this by winning the Kent and East Sussex competition in November.

The Year 10 boys’ team from Gravesend Grammar School consisting of Allen, Will Relf and Matt MacDonald also won the team event and go to the finals at Crystal Palace on March 21 as the third placed team.