WEST Drayton's Shelayna Oskan has her sights firmly set on Commonwealth Youth Games glory after spending a day at the Norwich Union School Sport Matters Awards, writes Tom Reynolds.
The 18-year-old 400m runner rubbed shoulders with some of the greats of British sport at Twickenham and was commended in the Female Student of the Year category.
A host of Olympic and Paralympic champions were at the home of English Rugby, including Dame Kelly Holmes, Tim Brabants and Eleanor Simmonds, with Oskan picking up her award from fellow 400m star Christine Ohuruogu.
And the former Baylis Court School pupil, who claimed the English Schools 400m title in Gateshead in July, admitted she will settle for nothing less than a medal in Pune, India, later this month.
"It felt great to get the award and it is great to have my achievements recognised because I didn't get any when I first started," she said. "I remember being on the starting line with everyone reeling off their achievements and where they have been and what they have been doing.
"But it is nice now because I am slowly getting recognised and it is great to receive awards in front of such famous athletes as Kelly and Christine.
"I am really excited about going to India - it will be my first major championship experience but I am not going out there just for that - I want to win."
* The annual Norwich Union and Daily Telegraph School Sport Matters Awards recognise outstanding achievements in school sport across the country, and are part of Norwich Union's wider commitment to getting 15 million children active by 2012. Find out more at www.joinourteam.com.
