JAMES Barwick, who has slimmed from 21st 10lb to 16st 5lb in three years by joining a Keighley gym, has been selected for the Great Britain team for the European Masters Games next month in France.

The 33-year-old Bradford man will be competing in the 50 metres, 100m and 200m freestyle, as well as a relay in Nice from September 30-October 11, with the swimming events from October 1-4.

James, who lives in Tong, said: "I had swum to national standard as a junior and gave up about 12 years ago.

"But after getting severely overweight – I was 138kg (21st 10lb) – I joined NRGym in Keighley three years ago as I always had an inkling that I would like to get back into the pool and possibly compete again.

"With that goal in mind and working at first with the owners Rousel Choudry and Nick Hindle through their classes and personal training sessions, I got the state of mind and desire, along with physical condition, to train for competitive reasons again.

"In January 2014, when I was down to 18st 1lb (115kg), I started training with Ilkley Masters Swimming Club.

"With 16 weeks' pool training behind me, I won two events at the Yorkshire Masters County Championships, and the spark was truly reignited.

"Since last summer, I have also been training with East Leeds Masters Swimming Club, who I now represent in order to increase the volume of work I can do in the pool, along with training with more people at a higher competitive standard."

James added: "At the same time, I started working exclusively with my strength and conditioning coach Bryn (Roberts), who also works out of NRGym and who has been unbelievably hard working and dedicated to my cause.

"He has provided me with even more drive and focus and has spent hours researching and producing training regimes that complement and enhance my pool work, while fitting around my lifestyle.

"Bryn has managed to get me the fittest, leanest and fastest I have been in a very long time and offered support in many ways.

"Along the way, I have attained medals at the Scottish National Masters Swimming Championships at the Commonwealth Pool in Glasgow and narrowly missed out on a medal at this year's British Long Course Championships at Manchester's Commonwealth Pool.

"He will be accompanying me to Nice to follow through the work he has done with me to hopefully see it come to fruition when I race."