Tuesday 20 December 2016 14:23, UK
Rising star Morgan Lake hopes to continue Britain’s tradition of success in the women’s heptathlon and says Jessica Ennis-Hill and Katarina Johnson-Thompson have both inspired her.
Lake sprung to prominence in 2014 when she won two gold medals, claiming victory in both the heptathlon and the high jump at the World Junior Championships in Oregon.
The 19-year-old won high jump gold at the European Juniors a year later and made history over the summer in Rio, becoming the first British female to reach an Olympic high jump final since Debbie Marti at the Barcelona Games in 1992.
"Jess and Kat are just such great role models," Lake told Tuesday's Sportswomen show on Sky Sports News HQ.
"Everyone is doing so well and when you have so many role models and it makes you just want to build on what someone else is doing. I've seen their progression from a junior and I want to continue that.
"In the UK when you are starting out [as an athlete] you are not just pushed into one event, you get the chance to try them all out. There is great coaching in every event and there is such a great [heptathlon] legacy with Denise Lewis and Kelly Sotherton and people you've grown up watching. It's a really great pathway."
Lake - winner of the coveted SportsAid One-to-Watch award in 2014 - will compete at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Belgrade in March, but admits she has already has one eye on the big event of the year next summer.
"I have the European Championships coming up but the big one is London - the World Championships, a home Games.
"That is something that will be absolutely amazing for the country and the sport. London is my big aim for this year."
Lake is now based at Loughborough University where she combines rigorous training with studying for a psychology degree.
"I have only just finished my first term but it [studying psychology] has definitely really helped me a lot this year," she added.
"I usually have either a 9am lecture or 9am training. I try and work out my schedule with my coaches so that I can make both my training and my lectures.
"There is a lot more still for me to gain and understand about the mind and how it reflects on your sporting ability, but I'm loving the balance of studying psychology and training at the same time."
