From the Brownlee brothers to the Williams sisters, some of the greatest athletes in the world owe their success to a little sibling rivalry and Enfield sprint sensation Laviai Nielsen is no different.

The 19-year-old became double under-20 European champion in Sweden back in July, winning gold in the 400m before claiming 4x400m relay success alongside twin sister Lina.

The pair, who were inspired to really make a go of athletics after being kit carriers at London 2012, are both undertaking degrees in London while training at Enfield & Haringey AC under coach Frank Adams.

Laviai has shaved five seconds off her personal best in two years and is the fastest under-20 over 400m this year.

She is the fastest British female in her age group for 33 years and looks set to take over from idol Christine Ohuruogu as one of the faces of British athletics.

But the modest starlet admits she owes a lot of her success to her sister who pushes her all the way every day in training.

“It’s been an unexpected season,” said the Kings College student, who has been inducted into the Jaguar Academy of Sport programme in 2015.

“Winning at the European championships was amazing but I think the 4x400m was my highlight because I got to do it with my sister.

“I did the anchor leg and crossing the line she had the biggest smile on her face. It was the best moment ever.

“We train together but she’s a little slower than me so we use each other in training. I know she can’t beat me at the moment but she is trying to push to catch up with me, so it works quite well.

“I started my winter training about a year ago just saying I wanted to make the European junior team, and as the season progressed I’ve been running times I never thought I could run.

“So it’s gone from me saying ‘I want to make the team’ to ‘I want to win it’, but that’s really inspired me to push on for next year.”

Up until a couple of years ago Laviai was a cross country and middle-distance runner, and if it was not for a meeting with coach Adams she believes she would still be doing the same.

But she has found her true calling and insists the sky’s the limit with the next stage to qualify for the full Great Britain squad.

She said: “I started with cross-country through school, but I did an 800m race which is quite a drop in distance and Frank, who wasn’t my coach back then, came up to me and asked me if I’d tried sprinting.

“I thought it was too short as I had just come down from cross-country but I haven’t looked back since.

“My hero is Jessica Ennis-Hill. I carried her kit at the 2012 Olympics and recently I went to watch her at the World Championships in Beijing. It was amazing, a completely different experience, and I’d love to get to that level some day.”

Laviai Nielsen attended the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport workshop, mentored by ambassadors Lewis Moody and Maggie Alphonsi and SportsAid patrons Danny Crates, Bryan Steel and Kerri-Ann Payne. For information visit sportsaid.org.uk