‘Anything you can do I can do better’ – Dixon

The 19-year-old claimed second place at the European Junior Championships in June and is now focusing on making it as a full-time professional triathlete.

And Ulgham ace Dixon, whose sporting ambitions are supported by an innovative partnership between SportsAid and Wall’s Pastry, said: “I swam, biked and ran from a young age. I was always very active at school when I was younger.

“My dad was an Ironman triathlete, and he went to the World Championships in Hawaii and I guess that was my first knowledge of triathlon.

“It was just a case of well, if Dad's done one, then I'll do one type of thing. I did my first one when I was about ten years old, so I've been doing it for nine years now. Triathlon has this wonderful way of being able to take you all over the world. ”

SportsAid and Wall’s Pastry’s partnership has helped fuel Dixon’s burgeoning sporting journey, with an innovative on-pack promotion giving consumers a chance to win a handful of money-can’t-buy experiences.

The on-pack promotion launched earlier this month and involves 50p from every pack sold going towards supporting the next generation of SportsAid stars.

The vital funding goes towards travel and equipment costs for young athletes and Dixon doesn’t have to look far for inspiration among SportsAid alumni, with Ennis-Hill among those to have benefitted from similar programmes in the past.

SportsAid’s funding has allowed Dixon to focus on triathlon full-time having completed his school studies and left his job as a lifeguard last year.

And for Dixon, the hard work paid as he secured a podium finish in Austria.

He added: “I competed in the European Junior Triathlon Championship in Kitzbuhel in Austria and I finished second there. From a results point of view that is the absolute standout result, that was the biggest result I've had. ”

Wall’s Pastry is proud to be championing the next generation of UK athletes. For more information visit www.w alls-past ry.co.uk/ .