SAILING ace Sam Whaley rubbed shoulders with double Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ayton as part of a scheme to encourage sports stars of the future.

The 18-year-old had come through a highly-competitive selection process and earned a spot in the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport programme, which is supported by SportsAid.

Following his selection, the Swanage youngster was invited to an extreme sailing event where he met Ayton – a champion in the Yngling class in Athens and Beijing – for a one-to-one mentoring session.

Whaley said: “It was an awesome day which I really enjoyed and learnt a lot from.

"Having the opportunity to speak with everyone on and off the water and then going on the RIB boat to watch the race close by was a great experience and I am definitely looking forward to the next workshop.”

The Jaguar Academy of Sport has operated since 2010 and provides funding and mentoring for young athletes so that they can make the most of their talent.

The academy's biggest success is Jade Jones, who won Great Britain's first Olympic taekwondo gold medal at London 2012 having defeated Yuzhuo Hou 6-4 in the women's -57kg category.

Jones, who came through the academy in its inaugural year, is now one of its ambassadors.

Just 50 youngsters aged between 12 and 25 are selected for the academy each year and a variety of sports are represented.

Dame Kelly Holmes, a double gold winner at Athens 2004, created the scheme's mentoring and education programme.

It includes mentoring for the athletes as well as their parents and coaches, while talent days cover the psychological, social and emotional aspects of performance.