TROWBRIDGE Tornado Danny Talbot says that he feels more ready than ever to mix it at the highest level in 2016.

In the second Olympic year of his athletic career, all roads lead to Rio for the 24-year-old Great Britain ace, who has his sights set on earning a berth as one of his country’s 200m hopes in Brazil next summer.

Talbot, who lives in Box, is expected to be competing with the likes of Zharnel Hughes, Chijindu Ujah and James Ellington for selection by GB in his favoured event but earning his country’s 200m qualifying time is of little concern going forward for the Wiltshire sprinter, who ran well inside the required 20.50 seconds three times in 2015.

Instead, Talbot’s Olympic qualification is set to rest on his performance at the 2016 British Championships, which double as British Athletics’ Rio 2016 trials.

At the tender age of 21, the Trowbridge Tornado, who trains under coach Dan Cossins at the University of Bath, failed to earn a 200m slot at London 2012 and had to settle for a place in his country’s ultimately-doomed 4x100m relay team.

But with Brazil on the horizon, Talbot feels in a stronger position to make his mark on the grandest stage this time around.

“I loved London 2012 and it was an amazing experience but looking back now, it’s almost as if I can hardly remember any of it,” said Talbot, who flies off for a six-day training camp in Tenerife with the GB relay squad on Monday.

“I can’t really remember anything about being in the village or anything like that. I was staying with Adam (Gemili), who was only 18 at the time, and we had a great laugh but I don’t really feel like I took it all in.

“I think I was too young and naïve and Rio feels a lot different. I feel like I’ve got a lot more experience and that I’m ready to go there and really enjoy it.”

In 2015, Talbot continued to evolve his training programme and the work he and coach Cossins had put in bore fruit as he peaked at the World Championships in Beijing, recording a personal best of 20.35 in the heats before shaving that time down to 20.27 as he attempted to chase down Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt in the semi-finals.

That Eastern promise proved a major boon.

Talbot said: “We worked on trying to get me to peak at the World Championships and it was great to do that. I’ve always treated the major championships as chances to show off all the work you’ve done in training.

“I finished second at the trials, even though I wasn’t at my peak and everyone else was peaking then, so it felt like a big confidence boost.

“The Europeans, Worlds and Commonwealth Games are important but they’re really all practice for the Olympics – I’ve been getting ready for Rio since 2013.”