Henley rowing star Luke Towers is hoping his recent exploits in Rio can set him up perfectly for the season ahead.

The 18-year-old recently returned from Brazil, where he was competing in the World Junior Championships and checked in with a second-place finish under his belt.

The result is a big boost for the youngster, who is a Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport athlete, as he looks to progress toward the top of the senior ranks.

And he hopes that the experience of finishing second behind Romania in Rio is one that is going to help him in the future – though he knows there is plenty of work left to do.

“My coaches were my biggest inspiration because I’ve had the same coach for seven years now and he pushes me a lot and makes sure I’m always challenging myself to make sure I’m always progressing,” he said.

“I just got back from the Olympic testing event with the rowing team so I’ve been busy because I also came back from the world where I had my biggest achievement which was the World Championships where we came second."

“The Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport is really good. It gives you loads of different experiences but it also helps financially with my parents. To go to such nice places and to be able to afford to go."

“I’ve learned generally about how to manage yourself about how to manage yourself and just to know about what you are doing."

“We are just over a second off the world champions Romania so that is good motivation for the season ahead and hopefully we can start to close that gap and establish ourselves as the best nation in the sport.”

Luke Towers attended the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport workshop, mentored by ambassadors Lewis Moody and Maggie Alphonsi and SportsAid patrons Danny Crates, Bryan Steel and Kerri-Ann Payne. For more information visit sportsaid.org.uk