Walkers Home Grown New Talent - Britain’s Best 2008 

( THE SUN )  

WE are celebrating this country’s brilliant youngsters with the Sun-backed ITV1 awards show Britain’s Best 2008.

COMPLETING a triathlon would be the achievement of a lifetime for most people.

But 18-year-old Hollie Avil has completed not one but TEN of the gruelling events — and there’s plenty more to come.

The youngster completed her first triathlon — which involves a 1,500m swim, a 20km cycle and a 10km run — just two years ago.

Since then she has been as high as No2 in the World Cup rankings at senior level and also won the Junior World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

It all started when Hollie’s dad Mark suggested the triathlon might suit her.

Hollie says: “I had a background in swimming and did a bit of running. My dad encouraged me to start cycling and try training for a triathlon.

“I loved it and decided to give the sport a real shot.”

Now Hollie has a professional coach and trains for 24 hours a week. She says: “I usually swim 7,000m before school. After school I usually go running or cycling.

“On Saturdays I do a track session and go out for a long bike ride. On Sunday I go for a 13 or 14km run.”

Despite her dedication to her sport, Hollie, from Bugbrooke, near Northampton, is a star pupil. She achieved five A*s and two As in her GCSEs and is set for similar results this year in her A levels.

Hollie is so focused on academic success, she will sacrifice the chance to defend her junior title in Vancouver to revise for her exams. She says: “I’m determined to go to uni because the combination of studying and training works for me.

“Ideally I’d do management science at Loughborough.”

Olympic gold-medal winning heptathlete Denise Lewis believes Hollie should win the Walkers Home Grown New Talent Award.

Denise says: “Hollie is a great role model. Hopefully we’ll see her at the 2012 Olympics when they come to Britain.”

Triathlons have taken Hollie all over the world, including events in Copenhagen and Japan. She says: “I have an event in Madrid this month. If I get on the podium I win a place on the GB team for this summer’s Beijing Olympics.

“The big goal is the 2012 London Olympics. To win a gold medal in my home nation would be a dream come true.”