By Frank Smith

Lewisham diver Rhea Gayle insists her sights are set firmly on a spot in the final at next month’s World University Games in South Korea.

Gayle will be among 10,000 athletes from more than 150 countries at the Games, the second largest multi-sport event behind only the Olympics.

The 21-year-old will be competing in the 1m and 3m springboard out in Gwangju between July 3 and 14.

And Gayle insists the chance to test herself against the best around is sure to bring the best of her.

She said: “To go out there will be an amazing opportunity and I was so grateful that I was picked for it.

“When I’m out there I want to enjoy the competition.

“It will be the first time I am performing on the world stage and I want to put in a good performance and see where it goes from there.

“I am aiming to try to reach a final and if I do that then I will set a new goal of finishing in the top six or something like that from there.

“While I’m out in South Korea I want to learn a lot about other sports and really bond with other people because it will be the first time I have been to a major, multi-sport event.”

The former Sydenham Girls School pupil had been a gymnast before she switched to diving six years ago.

She excelled immediately and reached the Junior European Championship finals just a few years later.

Gayle regained the 1m British springboard title for the third time earlier this year having been ruled out of last year’s defence through injury.

But she is trying to improve in the 3m event as her specialist dive is not an Olympic discipline.

“My hope for the next few years is to continue training, really try to progress on the 3m springboard and hopefully make some qualifications next year,” she added. “Then take it as it comes.

“I want to compete at the Commonwealth Games; that was my goal as a gymnast, so if I can make that as a diver then I would be very happy.

“This summer in terms of progression, it would be a good stepping stone to make a final to know where I am and how well I do in that final would also give me a lot of confidence going into next season knowing on the international stage I can place in this position.

“Then I can see where it goes next year.”

Gayle is currently in the final year of her sports science degree at the University of St Mark & St John in Plymouth and hopes to remain on the Devon coast as she continues to chase her dreams.

She explained: “Now my university degree is coming to an end, I’m really looking to hammer my training.

“I might get a part-time job so I can sustain my living here as I really want to stay in Plymouth because I have built a family down here with the Plymouth diving team and it would be a shame if I had to leave because I couldn’t sustain my life there.”

British Universities & College Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the UK, representing 170 institutions and facilitating 52 sport programmes.

BUCS will be sending a delegation of Great Britain’s next generation of elite athletes to the World University Games (Summer Universiade) being held in Gwangju Korea between July 4 and 14.

For more information, visit bucs.org.uk