A TEENAGE rower from Southbourne has his sights on the 2028 Olympics.

Tom Walker has been rowing at Christchurch Rowing Club for five years and is one of the rising stars of the beach sprint event, which will make its debut in Los Angeles in four years.

This involves head-to-head racing where competitors run to their boats before slaloming around buoys, rowing back to the beach and sprinting to the finish line.

The 18-year-old has recently received his second grant from the Dorset Community Foundation of £1,000 as a part of the Lord Lieutenant’s Fund for Young and Talented.

This gives grants to promising athletes for training, travel and equipment costs, which otherwise might prevent them from making the most of their natural ability.

(Image: Dorset Community Foundation)

“Lucy Hart, who is the beach sprint pathway coach for England, was the club captain at Christchurch and said ‘we've got this new sport going on, you should come down to Studland and try it’,” Tom said.

“That was the English Championships, I did two or three sessions beforehand and then competed and came second in the under 19 boys.”

He made his debut for Great Britain at the European Beach Sprint Championship in Poland in June, returning with a bronze medal in the under 19 solo.

“Just going to Poland, being part of such a big team and racing at an international event was such an amazing experience,” Tom said.

“And coming away with a result like third place is a feeling I find hard to describe, I was just so happy.”

Tom has used the grant money over the past two years to put towards rowing blades, a rowing machine and travel costs, along with funding his trip to Poland and to the World Championships in Italy in September.

(Image: Dorset Community Foundation)

“The grants have been a massive help because for the Europeans I had to pay for travel, accommodation and kit so it has halved the money that my family had to come up with,” he said.

“With all the training I’m doing I’ve had to cut back on how much I work so the grant has also helped cover transport and training costs.”

Tom added: “I've still got a lot of work to do because I raced the current world champion in the semi-finals and he beat me by a couple of seconds, but if I keep my head down, there's still a chance I'm in for a medal.

“I'm going to be in my mid-20s for the next two Olympics and by then I'll have plenty of experience.

“I've set going to the Olympics as a personal goal, it's something that I never, ever imagined doing but I think there is a small possibility I could do it if I keep working hard and keep training and trying.”