Congresbury Olympic hopeful Hollis invited back to Local Heroes scheme

Congresbury badminton star Emily Hollis' bid to follow in the footsteps of Olympic silver medallist Gail Emms remains on course after she was invited back onto the Lloyds TSB Local Heroes scheme.

Last year Hollis was one of only 250 youngsters across the UK fast-tracked as a future British Olympian and given £1,000 to cover the costs of travelling and competing nationally and internationally.

Now in the second year of the scheme, the 17-year-old was again handpicked at the Cardiff launch where she received masterclasses from former British Olympians Iwan Thomas and Katharine Merry.

And former Churchill Community Foundation School pupil Hollis admitted a day alongside Thomas was all the inspiration she needed to emulate Emms, pictured, – who retired after last summer's Beijing Olympics – at London 2012.

"Meeting people like Iwan Thomas is great and, even though he is not a badminton player, he is still a guy who has been to an Olympics and represented his country," said Hollis – who trains full-time at the University of Bath.

"It is great for me to be chosen because it shows that I am still improving and I am still working towards my ultimate goal – to represent my country at badminton and compete at London 2012.

"Gail is a real sporting hero of mine – she has achieved so much in the sport of badminton and really helped it become more popular than it previously has been.

"My season is over but the hard work doesn't stop and all my focus will be built around the next season and working towards that."

And current British 400m record holder Thomas – who claimed relay silver at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta – believes Hollis is on the perfect path towards realising her London 2012 dream.

"Emily has got the potential to be the best at her sport and a scheme like this will give her all the support she needs," said Thomas.

"Listening to people like Katharine Merry or myself – people who have competed at Olympic Games – will hopefully give her the inspiration to achieve her goals.

"And I wouldn't be surprised if we have future Olympic champions coming through the Lloyds Local Heroes initiative."

Lloyds TSB is providing £1,000 to over 250 emerging young sports people identified each year across Britain, in the run up to London 2012 and beyond. Visit Lloydstsb.com/Localheroes.