Rising star set for transtasman series

Chanel College pupil and star breaststroke swimmer Neil van Wijk left today to compete in Australia.
Van Wijk, 14, tipped this year by his mentor and former Olympian Jon Winter as "something special", is set to swim with a New Zealand squad that will contest a transtasman tri-series to be held over six meets in Australia from July 6 to 12.
His squad uniform arrived this week and despite some excitement, according to his mother Gaylene, the competitive scale of the upcoming event "still hasn't hit him".
Van Wijk this season took three golds medals and a bronze at the New Zealand age group championships.
Several swim clubs outside of Wairarapa have courted Van Wijk, a specialist breaststroke swimmer, and he has been touted for possible selection for the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Winter had warned not to expect too much from van Wijk in the transtasman series, citing his age against swimmers up to three years his senior although the international experience will be invaluable to his competitive development.