Andy Pozzi only recently started to think about competing at London 2012 but has now put himself in the frame.
Student won't be putting his studies on the back burner this year
Andy Pozzi only started to think about the possibility of competing at London 2012 earlier this winter but admits the battle to seal a spot on the British team will be extremely tough.
The 19-year-old sprint hurdler has enjoyed a superb start to the year and will make his senior international debut at next month's World Indoor Championships in Istanbul as he looks to gain valuable experience ahead of the summer season.
Pozzi became UK champion over the 60 metre hurdles in Sheffield this month by equalling his recently-set personal best time of 7.62 seconds while last weekend he impressed in two races alongside star names including Liu Xiang and Dayron Robles at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham.
While he could only finish seventh in a final in which Xiang defeated his Cuban rival in comfortably the fastest time in the world this year, Pozzi feels it was ideal preparation for what he considers an important event in March.
He said: "I need to get used to racing these kind of guys and running these times because if I'm to make major championships I'm going to be racing them.
"It's really good ahead of the world indoors to get that experience but I'd like to have done better.
"I think the world indoors are very important to get experience at senior level, particularly with it being Olympic year - but also in general it's great to get in the mix nice and early and then I have time to build on it."
The University of Bath-based athlete, who is studying for a degree in business studies and marketing, is looking forward to challenging European and Commonwealth champion Andy Turner over the 110m hurdles in the summer and knows he must get close to the world outdoor bronze medallist if he's to edge out the rest of his British rivals such as Will Sharman and Lawrence Clarke.
Pozzi said: "I'd like to think I can challenge him but the 110m is very different from the 60m and Andy hasn't really run an indoor season and neither has William Sharman.
"On the flat I'm a quick sprinter but I'm not a quick starter so I think 110m will actually lend itself to me more than 60m does - although that remains to be seen.
"To have this kind of competition which we have domestically really brings us on. I train with Lawrence Clarke, Will Sharman and Jack Meredith - so we get that competition in training and that really helps.
London calling
"If you run the 'A' standard you normally have a very good chance of making the event and I think realistically there's about five or six athletes that could get that for the 110m hurdles but there's only three places. Things are going to be tight."
But on current form, Pozzi is starting to believe he could well be in for a baptism of fire in London.
Asked when he first gave the Olympics serious thought, he replied: "A couple of weeks before my first race.
"Training was going really well and I was PB-ing in everything I was doing like sprinting and hurdling. It was all going so much better. When I ran my first race and got a decent time out there then I started to think about it."
Although this year's Olympics is probably going to come too soon for Pozzi in terms of winning a medal, he's excited about the prospect of competing at future major events coming to Britain.
He said: "If I qualify and go then it will be my first ever major senior championships outdoors so whereas a lot of athletes will view it to an extent as the defining moment of their career, I'll still be learning and developing.
"While it will be an amazing experience equally, I'll hopefully have a few more Olympics in me.
"It's really good that we won the 2017 World Championships. So many people are looking forward to this home Olympics and I hope there will be a similar feeling come 2017 and also the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014."
Pozzi concedes that university studies can sometimes get in the way of his training but has no intention of putting his degree on the back burner.
Busy
He said: "Particularly when I'm doing as well as I am at the moment there is a temptation to do that but it means quite a lot to me to stay at university and graduate.
"There are times when it gets challenging if training is compromised - the frustration is in the back of your mind that work is inhibiting the training but at the same time it's very important to me.
"I study business studies and marketing which is completely detached from the world of sport and I think that came about firstly through my own personal interest but also because I want something away from athletics as well.
"At this point in my life I don't necessarily want to focus on athletics as a career after competing so it's nice to have that option."
