SPRINTER Charlie Dobson is aiming to waltz his way to success on his England debut when he competes in Austria, this weekend.

The talented 18-year-old from Wormingford will represent his country for the first time on Saturday when he competes for the England U20 Athletics team at the Indoor International Track and Field Meet, in Vienna.

Dobson, who is a student at Colchester Sixth Form College, will run the 200 metres against senior teams from across Europe, at the Dusika-Hallen-Stadion.

His selection represents a positive start to 2018 for the Colchester Harriers athlete, who made his Great Britain debut at the Manchester International last summer.

Dobson told the Daily Gazette: “It was quite a surprise to receive the call-up, as I haven’t run this year yet.

“There will be quite a lot of pressure but I’m really looking forward to it.

“It will be a very proud moment for me to represent England for the first time and it’s great to receive the recognition.

“It was a great way to start the year and an amazing opportunity for me.

“I will be competing against a mixture of younger and older athletes and it’ll be a good challenge for me and running against more senior athletes adds to the motivation.

“It will be my first competition outside of England.

“When I competed for Great Britain last year, it was in Manchester and on home turf.

“But that was still a massive competition with quite a lot of spectators and that experience will stand me in good stead.

“It’ll be a case of controlling my nerves before the race.

“It’ll be a long wait before I compete as I race at 6.30pm but the focus will very much be on that.”

One of Dobson’s main targets this year is to run under 21 seconds outdoors, this season.

“It would be great to run a new indoor personal best,” added Dobson, who won the Under-18 Male Sports Personality award at last year’s Colchester Sports Personality Awards.

“I’ve not competed since September but I’m feeling really good.”

It promises to be a busy few weeks for Dobson, who enjoyed a superb breakthrough season in 2017 having medalled at the English Schools Championships and represented the Essex Senior team, in addition to running for Great Britain.

The teenager, who is coached by Stephen Garnham, received an invitation to the SPAR British Indoor Championships which take place in Birmingham next month.