Twickenham’s Olivia Weedon stressed she will be working hard over the summer as the two-time British short-track speed skating champion looks to make her mark in Europe during the 2016/17 season.
Weedon has proven herself to be the best from these shores for her age group after claiming the national Pee Wee Girls and then the British Championship’s Juvenile title in the last two years.
The St Catherine’s School pupil made the step up to the Junior C category this season and with the eldest skaters being 15 and Weedon only recently celebrating her 14th birthday, she understandably has yet to make her mark on the world level at this age group.
Weedon missed out on the last Junior European Championships but she is extremely confident she will make it next time around.
She said: “My season has gone pretty well. I became British Champion for the second time and I have been to a series of international competitions.
“I just missed out on qualifying for the equivalent of the Junior European Championships but hopefully next year I’ll make it.
“It’s such a privilege to be a two-time British Champion, because when I was just coming into the sport, I never imagined that to be possible.
“Over the next few months we’re in the summer stage of the season so I’ll be working on my strength and my technique, but the season should start in the autumn and then we get into serious racing again.
“My ambitions for next season are to get that British title again and qualify for the [Junior] European Championships.
“I feel like I can make it next year because this year I was one of the youngest in my category, but next year I will be up at the top so it should be better for me.
“I’m hoping to get some good times and perfect my technique moving forward.”
Like most who compete in the sport, Weedon’s long-term goal is the Winter Olympics.
The Aldwych Club member acknowledges the PyeongChang 2018 Games in South Korea is likely to come too soon for her but has her eyes set on Beijing four years later.
Weedon said: “In the future I want to compete in the Olympics and get that gold medal, just like everyone else dreams of.
“I’m just seeing where the next year or two takes me so I’m not putting a specific target on it. I probably won’t make it to the Olympics in 2018 but I’m confident I’ll be at the Games four years after that.”
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