SWIMMER David Murphy said clinching the junior sportsperson of the year accolade at the Oxfordshire Sports Awards makes all his hard work in and out of the pool worthwhile.

The City of Oxford star enjoyed a stellar 2016, competing at his first international event in Geneva, before being selected for England.

Murphy, 18, also made his European Junior Championships debut in Hungary, winning bronze in both the 100m breaststroke and 4x100m mixed medley relay.

His success comes down to spending 13 hours a week training in the pool and 14 in the gym, while he is also studying for his A-Levels at King Alfred’s Academy, Wantage.

Murphy, from Upton, near Didcot, said: “It’s great to win this award.

“For someone to recognise my hard work outside of the swimming world, it’s starting to make me feel like I’m having an impact.

“It’s such a good feeling.”

He added: “I live my life on a need to stay awake basis.

“If I’m not at school, I’m studying, if I’m not studying, I’m in the pool.

“I spend more than 20 hours a week training, it’s tough, mentally challenging, physically challenging, it’s the kind of stuff that makes you want to quit, but to be recognised for that, it’s really great.”

Murphy, who has been swimming since he was eight, is a part of Great Britain’s ‘Target Tokyo Podium Potential’ programme.

And the 2020 Games are more than a dream for the teenager.

He said: “Tokyo is a real target.

“I knew it was possible when I qualified for the European Junior team, because before then I had not had that much exposure.

“I was the new guy, everyone knew each other, but after I had achieved that and medalled twice that was when I started to think ‘this is serious and I need to get my head down’.

“Since then it’s been non stop, it’s quite taxing on the social life, no parties, a lot of sacrifices, but it’s definitely worth it.”