A little national recognition has come the way of a young Fowey kayaker after he was selected to train with the U16 GB kayaking development squad.
Dan Palmer, a Year 11 student at Fowey Community College, made the grade following the completion of two trials in Surrey, one at Wey Kayak Club and the other at Elmbridge Canoe Club.
The young kayaker seems to be well on the road to reaching the top in his chosen sport and spent last weekend in Belgium training and competing alongside fellow top level competitors from all across Europe.
Following an impressive performance, Dan, finished 4th out of 21 kayakers in the under-18 section.
He hopes these sort of results will stand him in good stead as he chases his Olympic dream.
Dan said: "They are all at a high level and I am aiming to make the GB team and hopefully compete in the Olympics in 2020."
Dan trains several times a week at Golant with coach Brian Greenaway, whom Dan credits for his success. He undertakes four sessions in the water a week and one or two sessions in the gym to stay in tune for the competitions.
Dan also believes his love of kayaking has had a positive effect on other aspects of his life, including his schoolwork.
"Kayaking has changed my attitude to life," he added, "I am now more committed to my schoolwork and my confidence has increased as there's a lot of shouting in kayaking to get people out of the way."
Dan Palmer, a Year 11 student at Fowey Community College, made the grade following the completion of two trials in Surrey, one at Wey Kayak Club and the other at Elmbridge Canoe Club.
The young kayaker seems to be well on the road to reaching the top in his chosen sport and spent last weekend in Belgium training and competing alongside fellow top level competitors from all across Europe.
Following an impressive performance, Dan, finished 4th out of 21 kayakers in the under-18 section.
He hopes these sort of results will stand him in good stead as he chases his Olympic dream.
Dan said: "They are all at a high level and I am aiming to make the GB team and hopefully compete in the Olympics in 2020."
Dan trains several times a week at Golant with coach Brian Greenaway, whom Dan credits for his success. He undertakes four sessions in the water a week and one or two sessions in the gym to stay in tune for the competitions.
Dan also believes his love of kayaking has had a positive effect on other aspects of his life, including his schoolwork.
"Kayaking has changed my attitude to life," he added, "I am now more committed to my schoolwork and my confidence has increased as there's a lot of shouting in kayaking to get people out of the way."
