Lily Beckford is looking to complete her medal set at BUCS Nationals this weekend.

The Brunel University student finished third in 2016 and second last year in the 400m indoor race.

And, in her final year competing at the event, the former Highgate Wood School pupil is confident of going one better this time around.

“I’m excited actually, it looks like it is going to be a good field,” said the 21-year-old.

“I came third in my first year, and second last year, so I want to win this year.

“It would mean a lot because I’ve never really been a champion, and being BUCS champion would be really cool.”

The BUCS indoor athletics championships are held at Sheffield’s English Institute of Sport from February 16-18 and are part of BUCS Nationals, which sees multiple sports come together for one action-packed weekend.

Beckford believes BUCS offers a unique environment for student athletes to test themselves against a wide variety of abilities, and feels her training this year leaves her in a strong place ahead of the meeting.

“There are a few athletes who have never done athletics before and then there are some who have done international events,” she added.

“I’ve been running well in training and I have done a few races so far this year.

“I would like to run a bit quicker but in each race I feel I am getting faster, which is good.”

As a sports scholar at Brunel University, the third year sports science student praised the university for their support, yet admitted she had to be careful in balancing her numerous athletic and academic commitments.

“It is nice because I am a sports scholar for Brunel, so they do a lot of stuff for me and help me out because of me running BUCS events for them,” she concluded.

“It is really hard to balance my commitments, and this year I’m trying to do my dissertation.

“I have got a lot of work to do, and it is hard but I am managing so far.”

BUCS Nationals powered by Muhdo is the largest annual multi-sport event in the UK, bringing the best of Britain’s university athletes together to compete across eight different sports in Sheffield. More info at bucs.org.uk and via #BUCSNationals