Promising Balham athlete Katie Snowden is targeting a medal-laden winter season after being put through her paces by double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes.

The 17-year-old, who competes for Herne Hill Harriers, was selected by Dame Kelly to take part in the Future Stars with Kelly Education Day at Loughborough College last month because of her performance at the Aviva English Schools Championships this summer - where she came 16th in the U20 cross country event.

She was one of 65 young athletes who took part in the day that saw coaches educate them about making a successful transition from junior to senior athletics through a variety of workshops.

Dame Kelly also put them through their paces with fartlek and circuit training sessions and took part in workshops on topics such as 100 per cent me anti-doping and injury prevention.

And the experience left Snowden hopeful of success this winter.

"It was a fantastic opportunity to train with other elite athletes and learn from Kelly’s amazing experiences," she said.

"It was great to do the training session with our On Camp with Kelly group leader and have Kelly leading the session.

"I now hope to have a successful cross country and indoors season."

"Katie really got stuck in and applied herself well in all the workshops," added Dame Kelly.

"I hope the day has taught the athletes how to overcome challenging situations they may face both in and away from athletics during their teenage transition from junior to senior athletics."