By Luke Surry

LIBBY'S FACTFILE Age: 15 Club: Border Harriers Events: 100m, 200m, long jump GB team-mate: Matthew Cliff

Libby Clegg makes up one half of the Great Britain team competing at the International Blind Sports Federation World Youth Championships in Colorado.

After winning both the 100m and 200m titles at last month's British Open, the 15-year-old can't wait to test herself against the world's finest sprinters in her first major event outside the UK.

Libby tells us how she's preparing for the biggest event of her young career.

I'm packing my bags for the World Youth Games in Colorado, USA. It's the biggest event I've ever been to and my first time in the USA, so I'm feeling a combination of nerves and excitement.

It's a huge event but I'm not putting myself under any pressure. I don't know too much about my opponents, so I'm focussed totally on myself and beating my personal best - if I win the race in the process that will be a bonus.

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For the past few weeks my training has been intense and I've been working really hard to get my start as sharp as possible.

It's absolutely crucial in sprint racing and the new rules on false starts make it even more pressurised.

Only one athlete is allowed to false start; after that the entire field is on a final warning and the next person to false start is disqualified.

As for the race, that's just a matter of going for it. My tactics are very simple in both the 100m and 200m - I go flat out from the start, around the bend (in 200m) and in the home straight.

If you've trained well and your start is right that's really all you need to do.

I'm quite new to sprinting. Until last year I was a middle distance runner, and it was in that capacity that I joined the world class potential squad for the Paralympics.

They assessed me and thought it best that I did sprinting, so it was basically a case of being told to do it! I do long jump as well, but sprinting is my main priority.

I train five times a week and the sessions last about 90 minutes. I do a lot of work on biometrics, as well as drills and sprints.

I like the fact that sprinting is an individual sport. I enjoy setting myself targets and seeing my times come down is really satisfying.

I have Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy, which means I don't have any central vision and can only see from the sides of my eyes.

I have the option of competing with a guide runner but I choose to compete alone. I like competing by myself and the feeling of independence that goes with it.

I think a lot of it comes down to confidence. I've been running for about five years now so it's not really a problem for me; I think most of my rivals are the same.

I attend the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh and my classmates and I have set up a website, called Looking at You. The site aims to show that people with visual impairments can do as much as sighted people, and don't need anyone's sympathy.

The idea came about after my teacher saw a TV show, in which one of the characters became blind and felt suicidal as a result.

She thought that portrayed a negative message about blindness and visual impairment, so we decided to do something about it.

The site contains loads of information on things like sport and life skills and it's received a lot of praise, as well as winning an award. Luckily for us, the award ceremony was in Jamaica, so we were only too happy to fly over there and pick it up!