Sports Features

Rachel Stringer's athletics career is on the up. After several successes at national events and being selected into a specialist academy by Kelly Holmes, she can now dare to dream about the prospect of competing at London 2012.

At the end of July, the promising 800m runner will travel to Belgrade to compete in the European Youth Olympic Festival.

It will be the first time the Norfolk teenager has represented her country, and she will be hoping to bring back gold for Britain.

"I’ve wanted to represent Britain since I began running so it’s a dream. Getting to do it is amazing," said Rachel.

The event in Serbia takes place between 22 and 27 July and will feature 11 sports and 97 events. Around 2000 young athletes will compete for medals.

Cautiously Confident

Rachel is cautiously confident going into the competition, well aware that her personal best time is quicker than the winning time for the same event last year.

 However the conditions could prove to be a problem.

"It's very hot out there, it's about 40 degrees at the moment, I'm not very used to it," she said.

Eye for success

Rachel's success has not gone unnoticed. She has even attracted the attention of double Olympic gold medalist Dame Kelly Holmes.

"I'm on Camp With Kelly, the program set up to bring in middle distance girls and mentor them and get them ready to be a top athlete," said Rachel.

London

With the 2012 Olympics on the horizon, Rachel certainly has something to train hard for. The event is not far from her thoughts.

"Everyone who is in athletics at the moment wants to go to 2012. It'd be amazing, I'm just going to stick at the training and see what happens."

With the guidance of an athlete as successful as Kelly Holmes to go with her unquestionable ability, Rachel's hard work will surely culminate in her participation in the 2012 Olympics.