Uppingham teenager Ethan Soppett-Moss, 15, has sights set on swimming at the Olympics after record-breaking performances

A 15-year-old from Uppingham has his eyes on the Olympics after closing to within a second of a national record.

Ethan Soppett-Moss has been making waves since joining Corby Amateur Swimming Club three years ago.

Last month he broke an eight-year East Midlands county record for the 15 years 50m butterfly after posting 24.85sec at the Long Course Championships in Derby - he now sits 0.63 seconds off the British record.

Soppett-Moss is ranked in the top 10 nationally and has qualified for the British Summer Championships in seven events.

He currently holds eight records in his age bracket at his club including 50m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly and the 200m individual medley.

Mother Rachel said: “His goal is the Olympics, there are no two ways about it.

“We’re thinking LA in four years’ time. His idol is Michael Phelps and he hopes to follow in his path.”

It’s already been a remarkable rise by Soppett-Moss, who joined Corby after growing a competitive edge from his younger years.

Rachel added: “He would run around the pool into the diving areas, and it was a rush to go and get him.

“But when he came back up, he was always smiling.”

Soppett-Moss started in the Academy Bronze team like any starter but his talent shone through, and it wasn’t long until the coaches were pulling his parents aside to talk about his progress.

Rachel continued: “The coaches said he was doing regional times and were very excited.

“They didn’t want to move him up quickly because his technique wasn’t there, and they were worried about the extra training hours, but they said they’ll take it slow.

“Thing is, slow happened to be about six months!”

Soppett-Moss attended his first 50m Club Championship at this point where he completed the freestyle category in under 30 seconds - a feat unheard of from a 12-year-old.

It was at this point he wasn’t held back any longer and a jump to the county squad was on the cards. Though the training hours increased, Soppett-Moss still pushed himself and quickly made it to the regional team. By 14, he had joined the national squad and was training 16 hours a week.

At this age, he qualified for the English Summer Championships where he took gold in the 50m freestyle and butterfly while breaking 15 club records in his age group. Now 15 and 6ft 3in, with an arm span longer than that, it promises to be an exciting journey ahead should he maintain his current rate of progress.