TEENAGE boxer Savannah Marshall is among 16 talented young athletes being tipped to make their mark at the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The 16 for 2016 are all supported by SportsAid, a charity which gives financial assistance to talented youngsters aged 12 to 18, to help them meet the costs of pursuing their sporting dreams.
The rising stars were named as Sport England announced it would be investing over half a million pounds of exchequer funding in SportsAid over the next two years.
Savannah, who took up boxing in her home town of Hartlepool when she was just 12, is already a European senior champion for her weight category.
The 18-year-old said: "I'm really delighted that I've been selected as a 16 for 2016 athlete, not just because of the recognition for my achievements but because I now know that as a boxer I can aim to compete and win at an Olympic Games."
Rebecca Gibson, head of development at the Amateur Boxing Association of England, added: "Savannah Marshall is the one to watch in women's boxing.
"Now that women's boxing is an Olympic discipline, we are looking forward to Savannah being able to fulfil her true potential. Savannah is the current European Youth Champion and European Union Senior Champion for her weight category. She has a steely determination and immense ability. The funding she has been given through SportsAid has helped her along the way to exceeding her goals and performance targets."
Guided by SportsAid criteria, award recipients are selected by their sport's national governing body in conjunction with the sport's performance staff. They join a star-studded list of athletes who have benefited from SportsAid's help in the past, including Dame Ta nni GreyThompson, Victoria Pendleton, Denise Lewis and the Government's new 2012 Sports Champion, Sir Steve Redgrave.
Redgrade said: "Sport England's funding means more young people can look forward to the same support that helped me when I was at the start of my career. We need to give these youngsters all the help we can to help them progress onto elite programmes and fulfil their potential."
The Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, said: "We have to give young sporting talent the best possible chance to get to the highest level.
London 2012 is on the horizon, but we also need to look beyond that and identify young British athletes who could succeed in Rio in 2016. SportsAid provides vital financial assistance to these potential stars of the future.
It has helped some of our greatest sporting heroes, like Sir Steve Redgrave and Dame Ta nni Grey-Thompson, get on the right track early on in their careers.
Now this exchequer investment will help more talented young people go for gold."