A PROMISING young swimmer from Richmond has received her first call-up for international action.

Joanne Jackson, the 15-year-old younger sister of Olympian Nicola Jackson, has been selected for the Great Britain junior team to compete in Italy in a three nations international contest against the host country and Germany.

The talented teenager, whose best stroke is the butterfly, caught the eye of the selectors after a string of impressive performances over the season. Her reward is a trip to Italy with the rest of the British junior squad in December.

The Richmond school pupil manages to combine a demanding training schedule with studying for her GCSE qualifications. She is in the pool for 15 hours each week, splitting her training between her home town Richmond Dales club and the Derwentside club in Consett.

Her only swimming-free day is Sunday, when she gets the chance to catch up on homework, but her mother Gill says Joanne is happy to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve success.

She said: "She's been doing it since she was 12, so she's used to fitting everything in. It's not easy, but if she's not doing it she misses it."

Inevitably, comparisons will be made between Joanne and her older sister, but their mother believes they have helped each other progress.

"Nicola's success inspires Joanne. They are very close anyway and Joanne used to keep Nicola company when she was training."

Gill and Joanne have just returned from a week in Bath, where Nicola is training full-time. The Great Britain coaches wanted Joanne to undergo some assessments and she took the opportunity to get in some intensive training with her sister.

Having realised her first ambition to get into the British junior squad, Joanne can now pursue her long-term aim to win senior international honours