A PAIR of young athletes from Lewisham and Greenwich are among 16 rising stars being tipped by Sport England and SportsAid to make their mark at the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The ‘16 for 2016’ are all supported by SportsAid, a charity which gives financial assistance to talented youngsters aged 12 to 18, to help them meet the costs of pursuing their sporting dreams.

Lewisham Taekwondo hopeful George Lee, 14, and Greenwich weightlifter Zoe Smith, 15, are two of the lucky 16.

Lee, who won a silver medal at the recent European Cadets Championship, said: “It’s really exciting to be selected as one of SportsAid’s 16 for 2016.

“I put a lot of hard work into my training and when I heard about the news from my coach I felt honoured to be recognised.”

Zoe, who this year came fifth at both the European Junior U20 and European Youth U17 Championships, said: “It’s a real honour to have been selected as one of the 16 for 2016 athletes, especially as there were so many young sports people to choose from.

“Having other people believe in my ability to make it to the Olympics is a huge encouragement and gives me even more confidence that I'm on the right path.”

Over the past year, SportsAid has distributed awards worth £305,000 to some 352 young sports stars in the capital who are starting their journey in performance sport and are not yet eligible for the Lottery funding awarded to elite athletes.

Sport England’s investment in SportsAid will enable the charity to continue its work in raising more money from individuals, events and particularly commercial organisations to provide greater support to more athletes in the coming years.

Guided by SportsAid criteria, award recipients are selected by their sport’s national governing body in conjunction with the sport’s performance staff.

They join a star-studded list of athletes who have benefited from SportsAid’s help, including Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Victoria Pendleton, Denise Lewis and the Government’s new 2012 Sports Champion, Sir Steve Redgrave.

Sir Steve said: “Sport England’s funding means more young people can look forward to the same support from SportsAid that helped me when I was at the start of my career.

“We need to give these youngsters all the help we can to help them progress onto elite programmes and fulfil their potential.”