Hereford Kayak Club's Paul Burgoyne has set his sights on gaining selection for the Great Britain squad for the 2008 Olympics in Bejing, writes Ian Morgan.

The former Whitecross High School pupil has relocated to Nottingham in an attempt to increase his chances of fulfilling the dream.

A sprint canoeist with the Britain team, Burgoyne has just competed at a World Cup regatta in Hungary, where he reached the semi-finals in the 500m and the 1000m of the K4 event.

The regatta attracted competitors from 48 nations and Burgoyne was delighted with the experience it gave him.

The ambitious Burgoyne said: "For me to compete on a similar level to my rivals for the Great Britain team I chose to leave my job at Sun Valley Foods as a transport planner. I needed more time to train, attend races and training camps. I was advised by people in the sport that relocation was a necessity for me if I were to secure a place in the crew boat. The only regular income I now receive is an annual £2,250 Lottery grant. "

Although Burgoyne lives in Nottingham, he still competes for Hereford Kayak Club and he hopes to promote the sport in the county and also raise the profile of the club.

A former Herefordshire Sports Council Junior Sports Personality of the Year, he started racing competitively at senior level in 1999.

Last year Burgyone had an outstanding campaign, winning gold medals in the K4 500m and the K4 1000m at the National Championships and he also landed a bronze in the K1 1000m event.

Burgoyne also finished a respective seventh and eighth at the World Cup in Italy and he was a semi-finalist at the Under-23 European Championships in Croatia.

He added: "The British team is a relatively young team so Olympic selection for next year's event is probably too optimistic. But our goals are to gain selection to the World events to give us a benchmark to go forward to try to be competitive for Bejing in 2008. By then most of us should be at the peak of our careers."