Javelin thrower Freddie Curtis is determined to put a disappointing World Junior Championships behind him as he looks to boost his hopes of making Rio 2016.

Curtis, from Hardwick near Bicester, was selected for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team heading out to Eugene for July’s World Junior Championships last year after throwing a personal best of 71.83m earlier in the month.

However, disaster struck as the 20-year-old was unable to register a legal throw and exited the competition in the qualifying rounds.

Despite that, Curtis has still be chosen as one of 100 athletes selected for the SSE Next Generation programme, which funds and mentors potential Commonwealth Games and Olympic medallists of the future.

And Curtis, who trains at the Finish National Training Olympic Centre is confident he can now turn his attention to the 2016 Games.

"I'm very serious about progressing in the sport,” he said.

“I feel as though I have got one-shot and will give this everything.

“I don’t want to have any regrets when I look back in ten years’ time.

“My 2014 season was tough. I went to the World Junior Championships and I had three foul throws which means I didn’t qualify for the final.

“I realised that I needed to address a few psychological issues.

"I ironed all that out with the help of a psychologist and working on my technique with the coaches.

“This will be a year of progression, but my main goal right now is looking ahead to the Olympics in Rio 2016."

“A few years ago Steve Backley was involved in the sport and the javelin got more coverage then but it has waned in recent years.

“I’m hoping that any success I get in the future might bring the sport back into the limelight again.”

Curtis is one of three brothers to take up the sport – his older brother Jackson and younger brother Redford are both javelin throwers.

Freddie now trains at Finish National Training Olympic Centre, which he believes was an important step on the way to Rio 2016.

“The transition from England to Finland wasn’t as difficult as you would imagine,” he added.

“Over there I get to train with one of the best coaches in the world – Petteri Piironen – and some of the best athletes in the world.

“I took that step because I decided if I want to be the best I would have to immerse myself in an environment in which the best were competing and training."

“With Javelin it’s a very technical sport – you can put 10m on your personal best in one season – so the excitement of improving in that area really helps.”

SSE’s Next Generation programme partners with SportsAid to provide financial support and training to the sports stars of the future. Keep up to date with the latest @SSENextGen