Cononley’s Bethan Latham is being tipped to make her mark in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro.

The 16-year-old canoeist is among a number of rising stars who have been backed by Sport England and SportsAid.

Last year, Bethan became Great Britain’s youngest competitor in the sport on the world stage as she competed in the European and World Junior Championships.

Following on from this notable achievement, the teenager secured a silver medal at the Under-23 European Championships women’s team event this year.

Great Britain women’s class coach Craig Morris is proud and excited to work with Latham.

He said: “Bethan is an integral part of the GB team.

She continues to develop at a significant rate and shows the capabilities to go on to greater success in the very near future.”

Despite her tender age, Great Britain junior canoe slalom team member Latham is already seen as a potential gold medallist.

She said: “ I’m delighted to be selected as one of SportAid’s 16 for the 2016 athletes.

“It gives you a real boost to be recognised and makes me feel like I can really achieve my goal of getting to the Olympics.”

The canoeist has raised the bar, even by her own expectations, but she also has ambitions to be selected in the top three for the London 2012 Olympics.

Although Bethan has a rigid training regime, with many of her mornings finding her in the cold waters of Nottingham, there is still a balance between career and education.

A student at South Craven School, Bethan has enormous support as an athlete, with the school allowing her the time to train.

She has also made the school very proud with six A-stars in her GCSE results.