Papps shaping up for 200m bid next season

By Alex Dawkins, Sportsbeat

Teenage sprinter Sophie Papps continued her remarkable rise in 2012 but she admits she will need to increase her repertoire to step up to the next level.

SWITCHING LANES: Sophie Papps is targeting some more 200m runs in the upcoming seasons

Papps capped a dominant 2011 season with relay and individual 100m gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games, and followed it up last season with a sixth-placed finish in the IAAF World Junior Championships 100m event in Barcelona in July.

But while most of her triumphs have come in the 100m, the 18-year-old is eager to replicate those feats over 200m in 2013.

"I really enjoyed this season and I'm very proud of myself. I did every competition that I wanted to and I reached the World Junior finals which was my main goal for the season," said Papps, who is part of the Spar Sprint Stars scheme.

"The last two years I've really focused on the 100m, but I obviously do run the 200m as well, so next season I'll probably try to give that a bit more of a go because I've never really focused on it within a season yet.

"The 100m is what I'm used to and what I know at the moment, but I do want to try and do a few more 200m events and get better at that as well as continuing to improve at the 100m.

"I haven't really thought about next season too much because I've been really concentrating on the winter training, but the European Juniors is obviously the main target, hopefully for an individual event."

Having only turned 18 at the start of October, London 2012 came a little too soon for Papps, who had to settle for watching from the sidelines.

After the incredible British success, including four athletics gold medals, Papps admitted she had been inspired by the event.

And with the World Athletics Championships taking place in Moscow next year she is eager to get her chance to take on Britain's top senior sprinters at the trials.

"The Olympics was one of the main things that pushed me to go and train harder," added Papps, who dropped three tenths to bring her personal best down to 11.47 last season.

"Watching everyone doing so well was just so exciting and it has made me even hungrier.

"I just want to be involved in as many competitions as I possibly can really.

"This year I missed out on the Olympic trials so next year I'd love to participate in the World Championships trials.

"I know I won't necessarily qualify because I think I'm a bit too young and just not at that standard yet, but I'd like to be involved in more senior competitions to get more experience.

"I'm just looking to gain as much as I possibly can from racing faster, older athletes at the moment."