Wade Bennett-Jackson is determined to be wearing a gold medal the first time he meets his little sister.

The sprinter from Worthing has never set eyes on Alina since she was born three years ago but will finally get his chance on Thursday.

Bennett-Jackson is one of three Sussex athletes to be picked for England for the Commonwealth Youth Games which are taking place just 50 miles from his father Gary's new home in Australia.

Along with Craig Ivemy and Danielle Christmas, the 18-year-old is confident of winning a medal in Bendigo but will be gutted if it is not gold.

He said: "My dad moved to Australia four years ago so I have never seen Alina. I will be too busy training in preparation for the competition to meet her before but I will definitely be seeing her afterwards.

"It will be great to meet her at last and I just hope I can show her a gold medal at the same time. I am going there to win and anything less will be disappointing.

"That may be putting a lot of pressure on myself to do well but that doesn't bother me at all as I have got a lot of new-found confidence from the way my training has gone this season.

"Having my dad and sister watching will be extra motivation but I don't really need it. My dad does not see me race very much anymore so I hope to put on a good show for him."

Bennett-Jackson knows he will have to be at his best to achieve his goal as he goes head-to-head with some of the world's top young sprinters.

His main threat will come from Jamaica's Reinaldo Rose who has a personal best of 10.33sec compared to Bennett-Jackson's 10.45sec.

The Belgrave Harrier said: "I am not sure about the rest of the competition but he will be the main threat. He will probably be favourite but I think I can beat him.

"The conditions out there should be perfect for sprinting so I am hoping to break my personal best and if I manage that then I should have a great chance of winning gold."

Bennett-Jackson is also part of a very strong sprint relay team and will be looking to repeat the success he enjoyed at the European Youth Olympics last year when he won two gold medals.

Danielle Christmas believes a month spent training side-by-side with double Olympic gold medalist Kelly Holmes can inspire her to glory in Australia.

The Crawley AC runner was among a group of eight girls chosen by Holmes to attend a training camp in South Africa where they were taught how to succeed at major championships.

Christmas is not one of the favourites for the 800m, which she will be running rather than her favourite distance of 1,500m, but is confident of delivering the goods when it matters most, just like Holmes did in Athens.

Her dad, Nigel Christmas, who is chairman of Crawley AC, said: "The camp was the ideal preparation for Danni because it gave her four weeks to build up to the championships in the ideal environment.

"Most of the athletes from the northern hemisphere will be at a disadvantage going over there because it is out of season but Danni has been enjoying warm weather training with an Olympic champion. It doesn't get much better than that.

"Danni is only about fourth or fifth in the rankings of those competing but she is a championship athlete who tends to produce her best on the day. She has a good chance of knocking a couple of seconds off her personal best and if she does that, who knows?"

Christmas also picked up some valuable information on her opposition while in Potchefstroom after sharing a room with one of her rivals for a medal, South Africa's Angela Wagner.

Both will probably be chasing hot favourite Brooke Simpson whose personal best of 2min.05sec is three seconds quicker than Christmas and who has the added advantage of living just down the road from Bendigo.

Nigel added: "It's going to be tough for Danni because she has a lot of jet-lag to get over. She got back from a 12-hour flight from South Africa last Saturday and then had a 25-hour flight to Australia two days later.

"That is a lot to contend with at such a young age but it is all good experience for her."

Craig Ivemy hopes to use the Commonweath Youth Games as a springboard to future glory after shrugging off a persistent injury problem.

The Hailsham Harrier was so determined to make the England team for the trip to Australia that he has battled through agonising pain for the last 11 months.

Ivemy's unique running action may have helped him book his place in the 3,000m in Bendigo but it has also contributed to the injury problems which threatened his participation in the competition.

Ivemy said: "The way I run means there is slight imbalance in my hips and it results in one leg being longer than the other.

"That has led to problems in my shin as the ligament started to tear the surface of the bone away. It was really painful and I had to take two months off but now it is much better.

"I have worked hard to ensure I am ready for the Games as it will be the biggest championship I have ever been to and will definitely help me develop as an athlete.

"The experience will be vital because I am going there not knowing who I am competing against and I will have to get used to things like jet-lag and different weather conditions."

Ivemy secured his place in the team courtesy of a personal best of 8min.24sec he set at Crystal Palace which lifted him above rival Andrew Vernon in the rankings.

Ivemy said: "He was ahead of me in terms of selection before that race. When I crossed the line I looked over at the clock straight away and knew I had done enough to make the team.

"It was a great feeling just to be selected but I don't want to just make up the numbers. I definitely want a medal and I am sure that is within my reach. If it is gold than that would be brilliant."