Why Sheffield discus star Chukwuemeka Osammor can’t wait for Commonwealth Games

British athletes are gearing up for a golden period with the World Athletics Championships, a home Commonwealth Games and the European Championships all taking place this year.

And with just 100 days until the Commonwealths in Birmingham, Osammor believes a raucous home crowd at the Alexander Stadium will be something to remember.

The 20-year-old, who acknowledges this year’s Games may come too soon for him, said: “I think it should be a good home crowd.

“I’ve thrown in Birmingham once and they tend to get involved quite a bit, so it should be a good experience.

“It’s a big opportunity for a lot of up and coming athletes. It will also raise the bar in terms of how hard people try going into the season. I’m expecting some good competition which will hopefully push me as well. It’ll improve the competitive environment, that’s for sure.

“It’ll be interesting to see some of the more elite guys go out and compete, guys that are at a higher level. Hopefully it’ll inspire people like myself and people in a similar category, just inspire us to put a bit more out there, put a bit more into training.

“Hopefully I can get some better results and there will be more competitions to improve our standards.”

Osammor’s career is financially supported by a partnership between Entain – owner of Ladbrokes and Coral – and SportsAid, set up in 2019 and part of the company’s innovative Pitching In initiative.

The discus star is currently balancing studying at De Montfort University with his training, though despite his studies is still determined to make vast improvements this year.

“Training has been going well over the winter,” he added.

“It’s been nice, I’ve made a few changes and that should be great going into the new season.

“Anywhere from a two to three metre improvement in terms of distance, that’ll be going from 57m to 58m, 59m would be acceptable for me.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more.