Cormack to blaze a trail for Olympians

Backed by National Lottery funding from Sport England, the Sainsbury’s 2012 School Games is a multi-sport event for school-aged elite athletes taking place from May 6 to 9.

More than 1,500 young people will compete across 12 sports, six of which include disability competition.

For this, its inaugural year, the Olympic Stadium, Velodrome, Aquatics Centre and ExCeL Centre in London will be among the venues.

A delighted Cormack said: “I was really surprised to be selected because I’m still only 15 and the selection was from under-18 fencers. But I was very excited as I’ve always wanted to be selected to compete.

“Having competed in the Sainsbury’s 2012 School Games will make watching the Olympic Games so much more exciting, knowing just what it feels like to compete there and to know I’ve been able to compete in the same place as the Olympic champion.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting athletes from other sports - one of my favourite things about fencing internationally has been the chance to make friends from all over Europe.

“A medal would be fantastic and I’m really hoping that my team will win gold in the team competition.”

The England call-up is all the more special for Cormack as she has had to overcome several disadvantages to reach the top of her sport.

“I’m quite small for the sport and not the strongest fencer around,” she said. “I’ve had juvenile arthritis since I was seven years old and have always had to combine managing this with training for my sport.

“To make up for this I’ve worked really hard on my skills and tactical awareness, and am really good at working out my opponent’s strengths and weaknesses and dealing with these - I often beat opponents much bigger and stronger than me.”