WOODFORD Green athlete Alex Cornwell was one of 35 talented young middle-distance runners to be selected to attend a mentoring day with double Olympic gold-medal winner Dame Kelly Holmes recently.

The 19-year-old from Buckhurst Hill was invited to take part in the session at Loughborough College on the back of a stunning performance in the senior boys' 1500m race at the English Schools Championships, where he won silver in a personal best time of 3min 50.95sec.

Only the country's most promising athletes were afforded the chance to work with Holmes as part of her new 'Future Stars with Kelly' programme.

On the day, the athletes and their support teams took part in practical training and educational sessions.

Cornwell said: “I really enjoyed the day, particularly the injury prevention workshop where we learnt a number of different exercises. I will definitely include those in my training plan.”