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Training partner Emerson inspiring Tyas to shoot for the stars

Tyas is currently attending the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games where she is cheering fellow Loughborough University students
Tyas is currently attending the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games where she is cheering on fellow Loughborough University students

High jump prodigy Zara Tyas has been inspired to reach for the stars after training with Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Niamh Emerson, writes Sportsbeat's Jonny Bray.

Tyas has been motivated by the upcoming Commonwealth Games and the support of training partner Emerson, who picked up bronze in the Heptathlon on Australia's Gold Coast in 2018.

The Loughborough University student from Huddersfield is already well on her way to the top of her sport after placing second while representing Great Britain at the Loughborough International.

And Tyas hailed Emerson's impact on her career trajectory and the power of the Commonwealth Games.

"It is just such an achievement to even get to the Commonwealth Games in the first place and to be able to compete for Team England," said Tyas, who has been selected for Aldi’s Rising Stars, a programme that supports 20 young athletes by providing a financial award to help with training and competition costs, while also delivering personal development opportunities to many athletes through workshop sessions.

"Obviously, Niamh was amazing when she competed in 2018, so yes, that was a really special experience for me to train with her.

"She is great, she is really inspirational, and our training group is just really good.

"I have had a new coaching setup this year, and I am really enjoying it; everything is going well at the moment."

Each year, athletes are nominated to SportsAid by the national governing bodies of more than 60 sports, based on set criteria. The Rising Stars athletes will be receiving financial support through Aldi, as well as a monthly food voucher, to fuel them through training, competitions and to future Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Tyas missed the 2022 high jump season after suffering an injury.

However, witnessing the excitement surrounding this summer's Games in Birmingham has boosted her hopes of one day competing on home soil.

She said: "It would be amazing to compete at a home Games.

"Getting to the Commonwealth Games in the first place would be such a big achievement, but if it was a home games, it would make it even more special.

"It would make such a difference to have the support of the home crowd.

"Birmingham has definitely acted as a boost to my dream of one day competing at a Commonwealth Games.

"Especially after taking part in the Team England camp that we did here in Loughborough, it is really inspiring to see."

If Loughborough University were a country, it would have finished tenth in the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games medal table, ahead of Jamaica and Kenya.

Tyas joined the university in 2021, staying in a halls of residence block created exclusively for elite athletes.

And the 19-year-old is delighted to be able to watch her housemates compete live this summer.

"I would quite like to watch the swimming because there are a couple of girls that are competing that I lived with last year in my halls of residence.

"They have made it to a Commonwealth Games, so it would be great if I could watch them compete.

"Everyone that was in that block had the same goals, and everyone was very focussed on training, so it was a really good environment to be in.

"It will be nice because I spend a lot of my time watching athletics and focussing on athletics.

"At the Games, I will be able to watch all these different sports, and that is something that I don't usually get the chance to do."

Aldi is the Official Supermarket Partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB and have partnered with Team GB since 2015, ParalympicsGB since 2022 and will be supporting them through to Paris 2024