FELICIA Miloro was at Alton Towers the day she received the her first call up to the Great Britain side – something the pole vaulting star will never forget.


The 17-year-old from Nottingham competed at the Manchester International last month where she finished in a respectable fourth place with a jump of 3.80m.


It has been quite a year for the starlet who has set her own personal bests indoor and outdoor in 2018 but it was competing amongst internationals at the Manchester Regional Arena which was the biggest highlight.


She said: “I was at Alton Towers on holiday and I then got a phone call to find out I would be competing and I was so emotional, it was an amazing day. I was really overwhelmed, and I was crying.


“Even though the weather wasn’t very good, the atmosphere was amazing. Just to be able to compete in front of a lot of people and with the senior vaulters was great – they were so helpful and there was a lot of people watching cheering me on, so I loved that.


“I think it made me feel a bit more confident because I’ve now been recognised I guess. I was pretty happy because I did well, and I had been selected so I needed to prove myself.


“It was mixed emotions. I felt pressure because it was a big competition. It was a bit scary.”


Miloro’s jump of 3.93m in Loughborough this year was a personal best – a standard good enough to compete at the British Championships.


The teenager’s season might be over but that won’t stop her working harder than ever and she’s got her eye on breaking that 4m barrier in 2019.


She said: “I got 3.93m and that was my personal best in June. It was a big step for me because that’s British Championships standard so I will be able to compete at the event next year with the best in the country.


“It’s an amazing feeling because you watch people on the television and you never think you’ll go there but it makes you believe in yourself.


“I want to get stronger and faster – those are my aims. I want to jump over 4m in the indoor season. I want to go a bit faster as well.


“At my age group I want to medal at the nationals. I want to be selected by Great Britain again for another competition – that would be amazing.”


Miloro’s cause is also being helped by The Nottingham Building Society, who are teaming up with charity SportsAid to support 50 local athletes as they try to find their ‘time to shine’, with each receiving £750 of funding.


Having already donated £240,000 to SportsAid to help athletes buy equipment, travel to competitions and receive the training they need to be the best they can, The Nottingham Building Society are now also helping athletes on the path to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, and beyond.


The teenager said: “It’s been really helpful because the money goes towards travel costs in getting to competitions and for kit that I’ve needed as well.


“I think it makes a massive difference because there’s a lot of different competitions you have to make which are quite far away. One week in Swansea and then Manchester for example. A lot of competitions you have to pay to enter as well.”


Nottingham Building Society and Harrison Murray teamed up with SportsAid in 2013 to help future sports stars get their time to shine. Visit thenottingham.com to find out more.