By Elizabeth Hudson

Hart is tipped to win a medal at this year's Beijing Paralympics

British Paralympic hopeful Katrina Hart is leaving nothing to chance as she prepares to take on the world in Beijing this summer.

The 17-year-old sprinter is about to jet off to South Africa for a winter training camp with other Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

"It would mean so much for me to be selected for Beijing," the Worcester teenager told BBC Sport.

"It would be a real honour and I really want to prove that I can do it."

Hart, who suffers from cerebral palsy, has made rapid strides in the sport since making her international debut aged just 15 at the 2005 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, where she won bronze in the 100m.

Last year she was second fastest in the world over 100m and third fastest over 200m in her T37 category and is a strong medal contender for this year's Paralympics.

She has already achieved the qualification times for Beijing and must now wait to be given the nod for her first Paralympics when the British team is announced later this year.

In the meantime, Hart is focussed on training for the biggest event in her career so far.

"I've been to camps with other Paralympic athletes in Portugal and Macau but this is the first time that I will have been to a camp with able-bodied athletes," Hart added.

"It makes it all quite real. I just want to train hard and prepare myself and enjoy meeting with other people.

"Although I've been to European and World championships, I know I still have a lot to learn.

"Winning any medal in Beijing would mean a lot but winning gold would be very special" Katrina Hart

"Within the able-bodied squad there is a lot of experience so I will be talking to them about their experience and see what I can put into practice as I head towards Beijing."

Hart is combining studying for a BTEC National Diploma in Sport at Evesham College with training in Birmingham with coach Lincoln Asquith and with Worcester AC alongside able-bodied athletes, meaning a busy life for the teenager.

"It can be tough sometimes trying to combine college work and training but the teachers are very understanding and give me extra time if I need it," she said.

"I have to travel by train for an hour to get to the track at Birmingham and I do that three or four times a week. I'm currently learning to drive so when I pass my test that will make things a lot easier."

But Hart, a keen Birmingham City fan, is keen not to burn herself out with too many races before the Paralympics, which begin on 6 September.

"I don't race my main international rivals too often and I don't see what they are doing, which can be difficult," she admitted.

"But because I'm not racing a lot they don't see what I am doing either, which could work to my advantage when it comes to the Games.

"Looking down the line, 2012 is going to be great to have a Paralympics on home soil but I just want to take each step as it comes and try to do well in Beijing.

"If I could get gold in Beijing, that would be great. Winning any medal would mean a lot, but gold would be very special."