by Elizabeth Hudson

Stephens is one of Britain's brightest sporting talents

Welsh teenager Nathan Stephens is set for a busy time in 2006.

The 17-year-old from Bridgend will represent Wales in the discus event for elite athletes with a disability at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

But before that, he is set to line up for Great Britain's sledge hockey team at the Winter Paralympics in Turin.

"It is fantastic that he has been given the chance to do both. He is in a unique position," said his mother Helen, the sledge hockey team manager.

"A Paralympics is the pinnacle of any athlete's career but chances for Nathan to represent Wales on a major sporting stage are few and far between," she added.

"It is just somewhat unfortunate that the events fall at the same time."

I'm thrilled to bits to have the chance to compete in the Winter Paralympics and the Commonwealth Games Nathan Stephens

Nathan lost both legs in an accident on a railway line on his ninth birthday but is now one of the country's top young athletes.

He began playing sledge hockey after coming out of hospital and was the youngest player to represent Great Britain at the World Championships in April 2004.

He took up athletics three years ago and made his senior international debut at last August's Open European Championships in Finland, finishing a creditable sixth in the F57 discus event.

Having made the breakthrough in athletics, Nathan then helped GB win their sledge hockey qualifying tournament in Turin in November, clinching a place at the Games and ensuring a hectic start to the New Year.

The Turin sledge hockey competition finishes on 18 March while the discus competition begins in Melbourne on 22 March.

The teenager is an experienced sledge hockey player

The teenager enjoyed a well-deserved break over the festive season but is back combining his training with studying for a BTEC qualification in Sports Science.

"Nathan is lucky in that the two events complement each other well - certainly a lot of the training for the throwing events helps his stamina, even though much of the sledge hockey work is on ice," added Helen.

"Rest is as important as the training because he has to peak at the right time twice in a very short space of time.

"In Turin, Great Britain are the fifth-ranked team in the world so we would be happy to match that or maybe improve on it.

"In Melbourne, the world record for the discus is 37.52m and Nathan managed 32.50 in 2005 but he spent a lot of the year concentrating on the shot so he is in a strong position to come away with a medal."