The smallest details often make the biggest difference according to teenage long jumper Patrick Sylla who’s hoping to put his injury woes behind him and qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

The 19-year-old, from Bournemouth, has been plagued with hamstring troubles as well as tearing every muscle down the left side of his body pursuing his dream of competing for Great Britain at the highest level.

Sylla, of Bournemouth Athletics Club, is now hoping to put those injury problems behind him and focus on the fine details as he looks to improve his personal best jump of 7.61m and compete for a medal at the European Under-23 Championships next year.

He said: "Besides European Under-23s, Tokyo would be amazing. That's always been my coach's goal, to get there.

“I think I need to stay fit to get there, pay attention to the small things which is one of the things we've looked past, because if I can strengthen my hamstrings that will improve.

“It’s about paying attention to any niggle I've ever had, rather than just ignoring it and treating it like any other injury.

“Hopefully next year I'll be able to be fitter.

"The highlight of my career so far is the World Juniors in Poland. It was such an amazing experience. I was lucky enough that we had a long jumper who came out who was one of my best friends and there were lots of people I competed against who I knew.

“Unfortunately we got knocked out in the final because the three people in front of us all got personal bests. My personal best is 7.61m, but I jumped 7.31m in that competition and the winner jumped 7.33m.”

Sylla was speaking at a SportsAid event in the House of Commons as part of the charity’s new three-year partnership with GVC Holdings, met with Paralympic champions Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Danny Crates.

The partnership will see GVC, the multi-national sports betting and gaming group behind brands such as Ladbrokes and Coral, supporting 50 of the country’s brightest sporting prospects annually through SportsAid.

The collaboration forms part of a multi-million pound investment by GVC into grassroots, community and health projects. ​

Sylla has been supported by the charity, who have funded British athletes since 1976, for the last year and holds his British record in the 200m breaststroke when he was 16 as his proudest achievement to date.

"It's given me a chance. I'm unfortunate enough to suffer from a lot of injuries, so the funding has enabled me to have weekly massages, which has helped as much as it could. I've still been injured but it's not as bad and I'm getting better.”

GVC is proud to be championing the next generation of British athletes by providing them with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Please visit https://gvc-plc.com to find out more about the Group.