OLYMPIC fever is well under way, and as Britain storms the medal table with a amazing collection of gold, silver and bronze medals, one teenager is perhaps more excited than most.

Fourteen-year-old Steven Dow from Walkford is enjoying the experience of the Olympic dream first-hand in Beijing after winning an online competition on this website run by McDonald's and Newsquest to find budding young sports journalists.

As one of the four winners, Steven will report back from the games where he is attending Olympic events, visiting the athletes village, an area not even accessible to journalists, and seeing some of the iconic sights of China.

Before he left for China this week, Steven was able to hold a piece of history in his hands, as he lifted the original 1948 Olympic Torch aloft at a visit to Crystal Palace.

There, he had the chance to meet and interview 100m and 200m sprinter Wade Bennett-Jackson, who is tipped for glory in London 2012.

Steven said: "I'm so excited. So far I have met James Cracknell and Sebastian Coe, as well as visiting the London 2012 site, which has been fantastic.

Before flying out he said he had been counting down the days until he could fly out to Beijing. "It really will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience," he said.

James Cracknell, McDonalds director of Olympic Sport said: "The Olympics is one of the greatest sporting occasions in the world and it's fantastic that these youngsters will get to experience it like no other spectators - it will be an experience they will never forget."