A YOUNG Darlington gymnast has high hopes of representing her country at the Junior European Championships.

Amy Fossheim, 13, hopes the event will be a springboard to the 2008 Olympic Games.

The Hurworth School pupil is a member of the national junior squad, from which the European team is chosen. She is also a member of the World Class Potential Group, which trains athletes identified as having the potential to win medals for Great Britain.

Amy trains at the South Durham Gymnastics Club under coaches Nicola Preston and Rachel Wright, and attends regular junior squad training sessions at the National Training Centre in Lilleshall, Staffordshire.

She said: "I've been training since I was little and it is really fun. Once you are there you always want to do more."