Watford disability thrower Mitchell Dutton is determined to ensure the world rankings don’t lie as he attempts to realise his dream of competing at the Paralympic Games.

The 18-year-old ended 2013 as the third best discus athlete in the world in his F38 category with an effort of 34.27m and was also sixth in the javelin after a throw of 33.72m.

Dutton enjoyed a treat last week, as courtesy of being on the SSE Next Generation ambassador scheme, he was invited to attend an athletes’ workshop at Loughborough University.

And, aware of his talents, former West Herts College pupil Dutton, who is a member of St Albans AC, doesn’t want them to go to waste over the next two years on the road to Rio 2016.

“In my category for the seniors, I’m at sixth in the world in javelin and third in the world in discus so I’m pretty high,” said Dutton.

“Everyone above me is in their 20s and 30s and I’m only 18 – but I’ve still got a long way to go. When I got selected for the School Games a couple of years ago, that was the biggest thing I’d done.

“I just couldn’t believe it. I was speechless and didn’t think myself as good enough to be there. But they obviously saw something in me, it gave me a lot of confidence and I’ve opened up more now.

“Fingers crossed if I get to the Paralympics and then retire, I’d like to carry on coaching athletics for disabled people.”

SSE are partnering with SportsAid to support the sporting stars of the future as part of their commitment to Glasgow 2014 and beyond with their SSE Next Generation ambassador programme. Keep up to date with the latest @YourSSE