James Arminio to represent Great Britain at U20 World Championships after two years in the sport

Barely two years after he first stepped on to a sprinting track, Gloucestershire teenager James Arminio will represent Great Britain this week at the Under-20 World Championships in Oregon. He is 18.

Arminio told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "It's all happened really quickly so it's been a lot to take on whilst juggling A-Levels at the same time." "But I still have so much more to learn, I'm still new to the sport, I'm nowhere near where I need to be in terms of what I've learned. There's still much more improvement there, so much more gains to make," he added.

Arminio, from Gloucester, first got involved in athletics when he started sixth form in 2024 after having previously played football, which he says he "never took too seriously". He said: "My coaches always knew I was quick but it wasn't until I started track that I knew how quick I could be."

Through his school he was invited to compete against other athletes from the county and eventually qualified for a regional championships. From there he joined Gloucester Athletics Club and linked up with his now coach Justin Smith.

Since beginning consistent training his sprint times have improved markedly and he represented Great Britain for the first time earlier this summer. "Constantly seeing improvements, it just gives you that motivation - you're constantly seeing the times decrease, you know that if you keep doing the work that's going to keep happening," he said. "At the start of this season, me and Justin had a chat and said the [U20] World Championships is at the end of this year, do we want to go for it? And I said 'absolutely'."

Arminio says he is not looking too far ahead and hopes this week's competition in Eugene will be another step in his development, with his career still in its infancy. "It would be nice to win obviously but, with the level of competition, it's going to take a lot to do well there," he added. "I'm hoping to just get a good personal best, enjoy the experience, meet people and learn from them - take that into the future and grow from there."

He will contest the 100m and the 4x100m relay in Eugene this week and is due to collect his A-Level results when he returns from the USA.