Promising young duo are selected for England

A pair of promising young swimmers from the area are celebrating call-ups to the English national squad.

Both Finlay Page (Havant & Waterlooville) and Pietro Forconi (Portsmouth Northsea) have been included in the Swim England junior team for the 2020-21 season.

They are two of the 71-strong bright young swimmers named in the squad as talent spotters look to find a star of the future.

Swim England were engaging with more than

600 youngsters during the coronavirus pandemic but had to significantly cut that number down when selecting a final squad.

Both Page and Forconi are fortunate enough to be part of the junior team this season.

Havant & Waterlooville Swimming Club member

Page has been picked for the 200m freestyle while Portsmouth Northsea's Forconi will go over the 400m freestyle distance.

Swim England head of talent for swimming,

Grant Robins, said: ‘The selections have been made with inclusion in mind.

These unusual times and our method of delivery has also allowed us to be more flexible with numbers and criteria.

‘It’s essential in these times that we stay engaged with our future performance potential.

‘This year has been particularly difficult to select this squad due to the lack of competitions but we believe there is a healthy blend of existing talent and new swimmers who have shown promising potential in the last 12 months.’

The first camp is scheduled for this month and additional online camps will continue in the new year with coronavirus restrictions preventing competitive activity.