LAUREN Booth is aiming to break a glut of records in the next 12 months after enjoying a 2014 that saw her win gold at the British Cycling National Championships.
The Newport para cycling international also recently set three national records and got a world best as she looks to dominate internationally in 2015.
In 2013, Booth broke the flying 200m record at the Wales National Velodrome with a time of 15.129 seconds and earlier in February, the Abbeyfield School pupil did it all again as she clinched victory in the same race in 14.402 seconds.
Booth has long been singled out for success; in 2014 she was selected as an SSE Next Generation athlete, meaning she received funding and expert tuition from the likes of Sir Chris Hoy as part of the programme.
The scheme enabled her to get a new track bike, which will hopefully help her towards more records this year and get a national champion cycling jersey.
“The gold that I won was a bit of a surprise really but it does mean that all the hard work has paid off. I’ve been able to set new national records as well which I’m thrilled about,” said the 13-year-old. “Everything has been going well for me on the track.
“It’s been a really good year for me; I did the School Games as well which was really enjoyable. I’m experiencing new things all the time and improving – it would be great if that continues in 2015.
“I’m glad that the SSE Next Generation programme has enabled me to get a new bike because I think this will help me break more records in 2015. It’s been an extremely valuable experience.”
The programme offers tuition and guidance to some of the country’s best sporting talents.
One of the ambassadors is six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy and Booth admitted talking to the track legend had inspired her to keep achieving on the track.
“Meeting Sir Chris Hoy was great. I talked to him about my training and my recent results and he was really supportive", she added. “He has helped to inspire me and to keep on improving and working hard.”
n SSE’s Next Generation programme partners with SportsAid to provide financial support and training to the sports stars of the future. Keep up to date with the latest @SSENextGen
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