McKinna has won both the English and British Schools titles

Geoff Capes has backed Norfolk shot putt star Sophie McKinna to become as successful as himself.

The former Commonwealth and European champion coaches the 16-year-old, who is the British junior record holder.

"She can probably be as good as me. She's a young girl that came to me two years ago. She's way ahead of her time," he told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"Provided she's handled correctly and not mollycoddled I think she can go all the way to the top."

Capes coaches a collection of British shot putters in the hope of passing on some of the experience that won him 67 caps for Great Britain and two World's Strongest Man titles.

McKinna is on course to follow in his footsteps, after a fifth-placed finish at this year's Youth Olympics.

"Because of her age she's restricted in what she can and can't do at the moment, she's only just turned 16," he said.

It is an unusual event. It is a Cinderella event and it's not looked upon as very feminine Geoff Capes

"She's so far ahead of anybody else in the county the difficulty would be finding the right competition, so I'm going to have to move her up to the senior competitors just to get her the right competition.

"I won't be pushing her too hard too soon. Next year she's got the European Youth Championships and the Commonwealth Youth Championships.

"My job is to direct her into the major championships and prepare her for those championships, but she's very level headed."

Capes has also tipped 15-year-old Sami Pam, from Peterborough, to take to the world stage one day, but in the mean time is concentrating on making sure Great Yarmouth's McKinna is focused on her sport.

"It is an unusual event. It is a Cinderella event and it's not looked upon as very feminine," he added.

"But take it from me Sophie's a fantastic girl, she lives and breathes the sport, she's quite articulate and I do think she can go a long way."

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