DANNY Talbot has been given a huge vote of confidence by the Great Britain Athletics team management, writes KEVIN FAHEY.

The Trowbridge Tornado has been retained on the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) for 2015 which will ensure the 23-year-old sprinter continues to get financial support in the build-up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“It is a nice confidence boost to still be on funding and know that people have faith in me that I have the potential to get to the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the Tokyo one after that,” said Talbot.

“I am very grateful to be included on funding for another year because life would be a lot tougher if I wasn’t.”

The package of support for Talbot means in practical terms access to physiotherapy and sports science back-up at the University of Bath plus the opportunity for warm-weather training during the winter.

Talbot and coach Dan Cossins spent almost two months in Florida last winter to help him prepare for the successful 2014 summer campaign in which he set personal bests over 100m and 200m and won his first UK senior title in the latter.

Talbot was also in the England squad that finished second in the 4x100m relay at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Talbot didn’t make the top tier of athletes included in the Podium section geared towards potential meal winners for Rio but was named in the Podium Potential is for athletes developing towards Tokyo 2020.

“But even the criteria for that has changed because they now only fund you if they think you have the potential to win a meal whereas before it was the potential to reach a final,” he added.