All those year years of getting up at 5.30am and travelling across London paid off for Ed Walsh in one hit this week.

The Pimlico champion won his own version of swimming's lottery when he got an England call-up as well as mouth-watering (ahem) offers of continuing his march towards London 2012 by joining either Loughborough University or a prestigious university in the USA.

The University of Tennessee flew their top coach to the Walsh home in an attempt to persuade the 18-year-old to accept £26,000-a-year to swim for them as well as getting his tuition and accommodation paid for.

Walsh said: "It's been a good week, but I've got until February or thereabouts to make up my mind."

The Westminster swimmer hinted, however, he was ready to wow them in Knoxville while keeping the next Olympics firmly in his sights.

Walsh broke the English record for his age-group this summer at the National Championships in Sheffield this summer with a sizzling 23.23s for 50m freestyle, as well as adding a winning 51.43s at 100m that attracted Tennessee in the first place.

Proud mum Lorraine said: "Ed's had to make the journey from here in Pimlico to his club in Swiss Cottage every morning. But there's still only two 50m pools in the capital: one at Perivale and the other is Crystal Palace with the second one closed."

Walsh added: "Eventually, Britain will have a swimming set-up as good as any other top country.

"But that looks as if it will come later. I need to be in top form four years from now."