Andrew McGowan (14) is already a member of the Great Britain national squad and has a string of trophies to his name since taking up the sport seriously around five years ago.

The Bearsden youngster, a member of Helensburgh and Largs Sailing Club, competes in a state-of-the-art topper class lightweight dinghy worth around £2,000 and can reach speeds of up to 16 miles per hour.

Speaking to Herald Sport, the Bearsden Academy pupil said: "I'm finishing the build up to the training programme that started in October in preparation for Austria.

"Additionally, I'm also getting ready to compete in the UK National Championships in Wales in August.

"I've put so much into the training and have been doing gym sessions to build up my core strength, which is important in a sport like this.

"I'm really hoping to finish in the top seven in the World Championships, which would be great as it is the pinnacle of the sailing calendar.

"It doesn't really get much better than this, except for the Olympics.

"However, my ultimate goal is to be invited into the Olympic Development Squad and then win a medal at the games.

"If things go to plan I'd like to compete in the 2020 Olympics."
The gifted sailor already has an impressive track record with two wins this year — one at his home club of Largs in a Scottish national event with 35 other sailors.

Andrew's other success came in an event organised by East Lothian Yacht Club, which attracted 28 competitors.

Other notable achievements include a fifth place finish, out of 85 starters, at the Northern Winter Regatta organised by Bassenthwaite Sailing Club in the Lake District .

And at the recent British Inland Championships on Grafham Water, Andrew was the ninth best under-16 competitor out of a massive field of 270 sailors.