PONTYPOOL gymnast Maisie Methuen is set to get a taste of the Olympics in Rio this summer as she targets competing at the Tokyo Games four years from now.

The 15-year-old is one of Britain’s most promising gymnasts and her selection for the British Olympic Association’s Ambition Programme means she is on course to take part in Tokyo 2020.

Methuen has already achieved great success, becoming the 2014 British Espoire Champion, a 2015 British junior silver medallist, the 2015 Welsh junior champion and even winning a historic silver medal for Team GB thanks to her beam routine at the European Youth Olympics.

And the West Monmouth School pupil has now joined 38 young athletes and coaches getting the chance to experience the Olympic environment this summer.

The Ambition Programme works with the sporting national governing bodies to offer athletes and coaches who aspire to compete at Tokyo 2020 a unique opportunity to have an inside experience of an Olympic Games.

The programme, which was first launched for Beijing 2008, is designed to replicate a first Games experience for young British athletes and coaches.

Methuen and the rest of the group will travel to Brazil next month and visit the world class facilities of Team GB's preparation camp in Belo Horizonte before flying down to Rio to visit the Olympic Village, British School and British House as well as getting the chance to see Team GB in action.

Of the five Olympic Games prior to Beijing 2008, more than 30 per cent of Team GB's gold medallists came from first-time Olympians while for London 2012 this increased to 40 per cent.

These included double dressage gold from Charlotte Dujardin and shooting gold from Peter Wilson, who both experienced Beijing 2008 through the Ambition Programme.

Of the 105 athletes on the Beijing 2008 programme, 43 went on to compete at London 2012.

And they won nine medals across eight sports from the likes of Jonny Brownlee, Sam Oldham and Dan Purvis to George Nash and Jon Schofield.

Dujardin, one of the stars of the London Games, said: "The biggest thing I learnt from Beijing and being part of the Ambition Programme was seeing the Olympic Village.

“It was such a shock, from the food hall to the amount of people living in one area.

"It then really helped me going to London. It was a real eye-opener and I had a good idea of what I was going into and it was great that I had been able to have seen it all before.

"For these athletes going to Rio, they've earned and deserved the chance to go as part of this programme and will no doubt learn a huge amount from the experience."