A HIGH achieving youngster with Olympic ambitions is doing all she can to balance school work and athletics training as she aims to ‘be the best’ at all she does.
At only 15 years old, Maya Schofield has earned countless accolades, taking the under-15 800m title at the English Athletics Championships in Birmingham and helping England win a team gold medal at the Schools Cross Country Internationals.
Yet for her this is only the start, as she dreams of achieving Olympic gold in seven years’ time, following in the footsteps of and hopefully outrunning 2024 Paris Olympics 800 metres winner Keely Hodgkinson MBE.
“I used to run, and her brother’s a footballer who started going down to the running club so it’s always been around her,” her mother, Claire Sykes, told the Chronicle.
“She really wanted to join and it’s just taken off from there.
“The Olympics are really the way forward, she’s already been contacted by teams in America for a scholarship but that’s still a few years away.”
The Kettlethorpe High School student, who lives in Royston, is doing her best to manage training alongside her upcoming GCSE exams, though Claire admits it’s not always easy.
She added: “It’s hectic, I’m not going to lie.
“It’s even challenging for me because I’ve got to take her to all these different places.
“She puts a lot of pressure on herself with both school and athletics because she always wants to be the best at everything, but no one can be.
“Most kids will be going out and hanging around together, but she’s really focused on everything she does.”
For her dedication and hard work both on and off the track, Maya has been nominated for this year’s Young Champions awards, which Claire says feels particularly special as athletic achievements can often be overlooked.
“She really loves anything like this,” she said.
“I mean no disrespect to footballers, but football often takes precedence over athletics.
“They’re doing work to build out that reputation, but it’s nice that she’s getting noticed.
“Plus she does like being in the spotlight.”
