It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to reach the top but freestyle skier Bradley Fry has been handed a major boost towards achieving his Olympic ambitions thanks to a nationwide funding initiative.

Managed by charity SportsAid, Sport England’s Backing The Best programme aims to support talented young athletes who would face difficulties progressing through their sport’s talent development system without critical financial help.

Seventy athletes were supported during the programme’s first term in 2016, producing world, European and national age-group level champions.

Hall Park Academy student Fry is one of those named among the recent intake of athletes and, as a result, the 12-year-old is set to receive an annual award of up to £5,000 to help with essential costs such as travel, accommodation and kit.

He will also benefit from extra support from coaches and physios as he aims to progress in his sport.

And after previously relying mainly on his parents to help him out with steep training and travel costs, Fry admitted his delight at being selected as one to watch in future years.

The Nottingham athlete said: “Funding is really important for me, I wouldn’t be able to carry on without SportsAid, and we can use it to pay for my lift pass which enables me to ski more.

“Being in the Olympics would mean the world to me, I’d love to be there. If I keep on going then I could make the 2022 Olympic Games.

“My sporting hero is James Woods, he shows a lot of style when he is skiing and he really inspires me. I’ve met him before and he told me to be cool and to carry on doing skiing as much as possible.

“It would mean a lot to me because I love to ski. It’s going to be really fun to watch PyeongChang and to inspire me to watch more.”

Backing The Best will use £5.5 million of National Lottery funding over four years to extend SportsAid’s reach into new areas of the country and offer more support to those who face the biggest financial challenges.

All the athletes are nominated to SportsAid by their sport’s governing bodies, with the charity then ensuring funding goes to those who are most in need.

Fry has already benefited from being part of the programme, having attended a recent workshop with fellow athletes where he also got to meet with two-time Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington.

And the retired swimmer, a former SportsAid supported athlete herself, believes the support can be invaluable for Fry’s own sporting journey.

“It’s about these athletes absorbing everything around them right now at their age, almost being a bit like a sponge,” she said.

“As an individual, you have to find out what works for you and this is the age to do that for these athletes.

“It’s about taking on loads of people’s advice, taking them on board and then figuring out what works for them and what doesn’t.

“My journey started when I joined a club when I was eight years old. For me, when I got to about 13, 14, my parents were struggling to manage everything from competitions to racing suits to everything that comes with it.

“SportsAid was a massive help with that, whether that was playing for petrol or new training equipment that I needed. It really made a huge difference to myself.”

Backing The Best is helping young talented athletes facing the greatest financial pressure to pursue their sporting ambitions. The programme, managed by SportsAid for Sport England, is supported by National Lottery funding. Please visit www.sportengland.org/our-work/talent/backing-the-best/ for more information.