Eight young sportsmen and sportswomen from the County are to get substantial cash backing in their bid to become the best.

Two swimmers, two cyclists, a rower, a triathlete, a sailor and a gymnast have each been awarded £1,000 grants under a new initiative from Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport.

The youngest of the eight are cyclist Lucy Garner and swimmer Sophie Smith, both 14.

There are four 16-year-olds – triathlete Lucy Hall, swimmer Tsubasa Nakagawa, gymnast Reece Pearson and sailor Michael Wood.

Cyclist Daniel McLay, 17, and rower Jonny Walton, 18, complete the group who will receive their awards at the Leicestershire County Council Chairman's Reception for Sport at County Hall on Tuesday when they will become Go Gold ambassadors.

The Go Gold scheme, supported by Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council, was already in place but, with extra funding available, the £1,000 level of award was introduced.

The initiative is aimed at supporting young athletes who are in full-time education to help them meet their training and competition costs.

And it has received backing from double Olympic gold-medallist Rebecca Adlington and Leicester's European boxing champion Rendall Munroe.

"The Go Gold athlete fund is an initiative which will make a substantial difference to the lives and careers of talented athletes," said Munroe, the European super-bantamweight title-holder.

"This investment will develop elite performance in Leicestershire and I look forward to seeing the progress made by our future stars."

Andy Reed MP, the Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport chair, said: "I am delighted Go Gold will enable athletes from Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland to reach their sporting potential."

He added: "Training at high levels requires not only dedication from the athlete but funding to purchase the best equipment and to meet the travelling and training costs."

Go Gold is being awarded in two categories – podium potential and podium performance.

Podium potential is aimed at athletes who are currently performing and representing at county, regional or national level. Podium performance is for athletes who are currently performing at a national or international level and who have been accepted on to world-class programmes by their national governing body.

Athletes must participate in a sport recognised by Sport England and have a recognised national governing body who must support the application.

For further details on Go Gold, contact Kate Scott, School Sport Development Officer at Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport on 01509 226769, email:

k.scott@lboro.ac.uk

or visit:

www.lrsport.org.uk/gogold