Great Britain's hammer star Hitchon gets ready for Helsinki and London

British hammer thrower Sophie Hitchon may not have returned from last summer's European Athletics U23 Championships with a gold medal but nevertheless her trip to the Czech city was highly memorable.

Not only did the 20-year-old finish third to get on the podium again after winning at the World Junior Championships in Canada the year before, she also showed her ability to rise to the occasion by setting a British record of 69.59m.

Inevitably, with such success, a lot of attention is being focused on her ahead of the European Athletics Championships and Olympic Games this summer, the latter on home soil in London.

In an interview with the website of the British broadcaster the BBC, which can be read here, Hitchon talks about her transition from a being a budding ballet dancer to one of Britain's brightest athletics hopes for the foreseeable future.

Hitchon also has her own website: www.sophiehitchon.co.uk