AN outstanding young ski prospect from Valley Park, North Baddesley, has just rounded off a great season and is already aiming high for the year ahead.

Fifteen-year-old Mike Colyer has won numerous major awards since he set off for his first Alpine ski race training sessions in Chamonix, France.

Still as determined as ever to represent Great Britain in a Winter Olympics, he is closing in on that goal despite having been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 2001. Illness reduced Mike's four months' training and racing at the British Ski Academy in France to four weeks.

He then showed his courage by battling on to become British Combined Champion, and he has continued to make progress.

Moving into the junior (15 to 17) age group, Mike has needed to work ever harder to remain at the top of his field, often competing against athletes with two more years' experience than him.

In December, he set off for four weeks in Norway, equipped with skis and boots supplied by the South's leading independent ski shop - Filarinskis in Havant - and competed in his first adult league series.

After that, the achievements continued to flow and Mike ended the season with a third place in the British Junior Championships and a second in the Scottish Championships.

Extremely grateful to the sponsors who have helped him already, Mike is again seeking new sponsors as be battles towards re-selection for the England Alpine Ski Team later this year.