Pickett in junior NZ team

Michael Pickett. File picture

Gisborne swimmer Michael Pickett has been named in the New Zealand team for the 2019 FINA World Junior Championships this year.

Michael joins six other swimmers who qualified out of the national age-group championships in Wellington last month.

He swims the 50-metre and 100m freestyle, and is ranked No.1 in the world for 16-year-old freestyle swimmers over the 50-metre distance.

Pickett studies at St Peters Lutheran College in Brisbane.

He trains with the St Peters Western Swim Club in Brisbane, ranked the top swimming club in Australia.

“We are very proud of him and pleased for him,” a member of his family said in Gisborne this morning.

“Michael trains hard — nine times a week in the pool, plus gym sessions.”

The junior championships will be held in Budapest in late August.