CALDICOT sprint sensation Amelia Reynolds is adamant she knows the secret to her latest success, writes Jimmy Booker.

The 18-year-old recorded a new lifetime best of 24.04 seconds when finishing second in her under-20 200m semi-final at the England Athletics Indoor Age Group Championships in Sheffield.

The time, a Welsh record for her age group, was two-hundredths of a second faster than the 24.06secs she ran in June 2014.

She also posted an impressive 24.08secs in the final but had to settle for silver behind Alisha Rees, who sped home in 23.79secs.

Reflecting on her performance, Reynolds believes one factor in particular sticks out in her mind as the chief catalyst for her renewed speed.

“This season was the first time I haven’t had something wrong with me in the winter,” said Reynolds, who benefits from being part of the SSE Next Generation programme.

“For about three years running I kept having tonsillitis, and this winter our focus was for me to not get ill.

“I’ve changed my coaches as well, my training has altered a little bit, and it’s all come together for this season.

“I haven’t run below 24.3 in about four years – I’m ecstatic. When I came over the line I didn’t think it was that fast, but when I looked at the clock I thought ‘wow!’

“In the race where I ran my personal best I had other competitors who were with me.

“When you’re racing against someone who is really near you, you concentrate on beating them, whereas if you’re racing with someone too far in front or too far behind you try and think to run quicker, and that makes you end up running slower.”

The Cardiff AAC teenager may have run faster over 200m indoors than any female Welsh athlete at under-20 level previously but she is not resting on her laurels.

“I can 100 per cent go faster,” she added. “I’m really happy with my indoor form, but for the outdoor season I really want to get a 23.8 or a sub-24, and I’ll be so happy.

“I’d also like to make the Great Britain juniors squad at the Loughborough International later this year.

“It’s my dream, and I think every young athlete’s dream, to make the GB squad, so that’s become a more realistic goal since I ran that time in Sheffield.”

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