A COMPETITIVE youngster has been rising through the ranks of local athletics tournaments as she tries to make her dreams of competing in the Olympics a reality.

Vanessa Ndambakuwa has been sprinting for most of her life, however as she’s got older people began to notice her talent and pushed her to compete.

Now, the 15-year-old from Grimethorpe can’t get enough of racing, earning top spots at the English School Games and English Championships.

The Holy Trinity School pupil told the Chronicle: “I used to run when I was a bit younger, but I was never too interested in doing anything with it.

“As soon as I got to secondary school teachers noticed my talent and were telling me I should apply at clubs.

“They told my parents who signed me up for a club and the coaches took things up from there.

“I started this season having won the Yorkshire Championships.

“I was supposed to compete in the North of England, but I got Covid around that time which meant I was held back for about two weeks.

“I had the England National Championships just after that so I was still dealing with Covid.”

Last month, Vanessa added another gold to her collection, with victory over 300 metres at the UK Schools Games when she won by more than half a second at the race in Loughborough.

She has now been shortlisted at this year’s Proud of Barnsley, celebrating her continuing success.

“I do want to become a professional athlete and compete in all the major championships,” she added.

“I’ll take it step by step, so from next year I’ll be looking at making sure I’m getting firsts and winning races.

“But in the long run I want to be in the Olympics.

“I love competing and the feeling of competing.

“When you’re there, there’s the crowd about and you get to do what you’re best at - it’s just a great feeling.”