COLCHESTER athlete Charlie Dobson simply laughed when talks of the World Championships arose last year – now he’s within striking distance of the big stage.

A 200m runner, Dobson was far from built for the event when he first started out, his teenage years allowing him the opportunity to grow and specialise.

Now the 19-year-old has this year’s athletics World Championships firmly in his sights, an opportunity that would far eclipse anything he has done so far.

But first comes this weekend’s BUCS Outdoor Championships in Bedford, a chance to test his mettle against the best that university sporting talent has to offer.

“This will be my first taste of BUCS competition because I missed the indoors to save myself for the later stages of the season,” said Colchester Harriers member Dobson, who will be competing at the British Universities & Colleges Sport Outdoor Championships in Bedford this weekend.

“The exam pressures are ever mounting and they start at the end of May but I will definitely be competing at BUCS.

“It is so early in the season so I don’t want to say that I should be winning but I need to be ready to perform and get on with it.

“This time last year my coach started talking about the worlds and I thought he was joking but as I got faster and faster it became more realistic.

“I represented GB at the World Junior Championships and that was an awesome feeling and one that will never get old.

“Putting on that vest will never get old – everyone wants to go to the Olympics, my ambition is to go to represent GB there and compete against other world-class athletes – that would be amazing.

“A home Commonwealth Games also has to be a landmark that I need to try and get to.”

Life rarely changes as much as it does when a student reaches university, with life, friendships and sport thrown up in the air when taking the plunge.

But Dobson has far from let the new circumstances derail his training plans, with the Junior World Championship silver medallist having plenty of support in his corner.

“My mum was a county level sprinter and she has been very supportive of my career so far,” he added.

“She has travelled with me all over the world to train and compete and came out to see me at the Junior World Championships last year.

“At the English Schools Championships in 2017 I came second and I had never come anywhere that level - I knew I was capable of doing something like that but I had only recently discovered that I was quite good

“It was a struggle to balance my studies and training programme at first and it is a massive adjustment to make.

“I lived with my parents before and had lots of things done for me and then going to uni was a big shock but at the same time it is easy to adapt because you just have to do the things to looks after yourself.

“At the English Schools Championships in 2017 I came second and I had never come anywhere that level - I knew I was capable of doing something like that but I had only recently discovered that I was quite good.”