Ringwood athlete Phoebe Dowson has been hand-picked as a future British Olympian after being chosen to be part of the Lloyds TSB Local Heroes initiative.
The 17-year-old discus thrower will receive a cash injection of £1,000 towards training and competing and is one of only 264 youngsters selected from across England and Wales.
Dowson, who goes to Ringwood School, attended the launch of the scheme at Wembley Stadium, where she rubbed shoulders with Olympic diving silver medallist Leon Taylor.
And Dowson – a Bournemouth AC member– admits her recent recognition will be just the confidence boost she needs ahead of a hectic 2012 season.
“It feels great to be recognised and to know that people believe in me,” said Dowson – who also was treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Olympic Park in East London.
“Coming to days like this make me want to push on and continue to work hard to get to where I want to be in the future.
“The money is a big help with training and travelling and the equipment and I’m so happy that I have been chosen to be part of this group.”
In partnership with SportsAid the Lloyds TSB initiative is designed to ensure more talent reaches the top of their sport.
In total 346 talented athletes are part of the programme with 82 Bank of Scotland Local Heroes north of the border also receiving funding towards training and competing.
Taylor knows a thing or two about spotting talent having helped mentor London 2012 gold medal hopeful Tom Daley since he was ten, and he believes Dowson and co. are the future.
“It’s fantastic for these young athletes to get the funding and support because they have got a massive amount of talent,” said Taylor, who won Olympic 10m platform silver in Athens in 2004.
“So it’s great for them to get some recognition and support and hopefully they can go on from here to have great careers.”
• Lloyds TSB Local Heroes, in partnership with SportsAid, provides support and funding to 346 of Britain’s most talented developing athletes on their journey to London 2012 and beyond. Since 2008, the programme has supported 1,000 athletes. Follow future stars at facebook.com/lloydstsblocalheroes
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article