ATHLETICS: SALFORD College sprinter Shaunna Thompson insists that her pelvic injury will be out of sight and out of mind when she competes in the World Youth Championships this week.

The 17-year-old has struggled to shrug off the injury in recent weeks but that did not stop her from walking away from last month’s English under-20s championships with the 200 metres gold medal.

And Thompson, who will compete in both the 100m and 200m in the World Youth Championships, admits that she will have to grit her teeth and bare it again when the competition gets underway in Sudtirol, Italy.

"I am still trying to focus on getting my injury right because that is in the back of my head at the moment," said Thompson. "I am trying not to think about it because all I want to do is try and get close to my personal best.

"Before the injury I was getting some good times and, hopefully, everything will be fine. I have just got to try and get through the rounds and not focus too much on the final.

"It will be tough because in the 100m there are heats, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final and just one less race in the 200m. So I will be out-and-out racing for five days."

The UKA Heroes project, which is sponsored by Original Source, is a successful initiative which offers financial support to talented young athletes who are working towards the 2012 and 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.