Pendleton encourages next generation of female talent
World champion one of the faces of a new campaign

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Double cycling world champion Victoria Pendleton has been drafted in to help spearhead a drive to find more elite British female athletes. The Girls4Gold initiative, lead by UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport (EIS), aims to uncover hidden talent with the potential to win medals at London 2012 and beyond.
The strategy involves boosting
Athletic women aged 17-25, who have competed at county level or above in any sport, are being invited to apply at www.uksport.gov.uk/girls4gold. Successful girls will be invited to Olympic Talent Assessment events over the summer to identify those individuals who have a higher probability of podium success. The EIS talent identification scientists will then work closely with elite coaches from the beneficiary sports, to provide the short listed athletes with the opportunity to discover their potential in a world class training environment.
The female-specific campaign builds on the huge success of ‘Sporting Giants’, which attracted over 3,800 applicants, but with a female to male ratio of 1:4. ‘
Pendleton, a strong medal contender in
“It will be fantastic to recruit more girls to try out for cycling and the other Olympic sports. I’m confident we will find some outstanding hidden talent to join us in the team for 2012. I just hope we don’t find anyone better than me!
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