WORCESTER’S Simon Williams has been accepted on the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS).

This is a Government-funded programme that represents a unique partnership between talented young athletes, national governing bodies (NGB’s) and higher or further education. TASS aims to help its athletes to balance academic life with training and competition as a performance athlete.

Established in 2003, six thousand awards have enabled thousands of athletes to fulfil their sporting potential and become medal winners of the future.

In the Olympics at London 2012, 200 TASS athletes competed with 44 of them winning medals.

Williams, a member of the Worcester Canoe Club, trains twice daily on the River Severn and also at Fit For Free Gym. He is currently studying PE, Psychology, food and nutrition and biology at Worcester Sixth Form College.

He competes in boys ‘A’ sprints and in Division Two marathon events, both of which are the highest level for under 18s, and he has already received many medals with his success.

Williams has also represented Great Britain juniors in Poznan, Poland, earlier this year and aims to compete in the Olympics in 2020 in flat water 1,000-metre sprints in his K1.