Chris makes A real splash.

Byline: JOANNA DESIRA

A CHAMPION athlete can now add three top A-levels to his string of sporting honours.

Chris Wilkinson, who is a Junior British Champion in running and swimming biathlon, juggled his strict training regime with studying for his A-levels.

And the hard work paid off with As in PE, maths, and biology.

He is now going to Leeds University to study biomedicine and hopes to break into the Great British senior national swimming squad - the sport he now concentrates on.

Chris became Junior British Champion in the biathlon last year and came fourth in the Junior World Championship in the biathlon in 2007. This year Chris, who swims the front crawl, broke into the British top 20.

Chris, 18, from Guisborough, stuck to his strict training schedule with Billingham Swimming Club, as well as studying for his exams.

He said: "I trained for 18 hours a week and as I train in Billingham it took 45 minutes to drive each way from my house. It was tough and I had to find the time to get it all in, using free periods in college.

"I would get in from college at four, I would be training from six and I wouldn't get in again until nine, then I would up at five to go training early. It was a case of using my free periods to get work done."

When Chris moves to Leeds he will be a member of the City of Leeds Swimming Club.

He said: "I chose Leeds because it gave me the best balance between my swimming and academic. I chose biomedicine because I hope to go into medicine but I don't want to study to be a doctor because the time would take me away from swimming."

PE teacher Alison Laws from Prior Pursglove said: "Chris was an inspiration to other students, showing enthusiasm and applying his knowledge from the classroom to his practical performance."

CAPTION(S):

MULTI-TALENTED: Chris Wilkinson, right, and pictured in action, above, achieved three A-grade A-levels to add to his sporting accolades