After narrowly missing out on selection for Great Britain’s boxing squad for London 2012, Charlie Edwards is not about to let lightning strike twice.
Edwards, then a lightweight boxer, came close to earning a spot at the London Olympics, having won bronze at the 2011 European Championships in Turkey on his international debut.
But it ultimately wasn’t to be as Josh Taylor went instead and Edwards was reduced to a watching brief.
However Edwards, 20, has since moved up to the flyweight division and has a chance for more European Championships glory having been chosen for next month’s event in Minsk.
And Edwards is adamant he has learnt his lessons and is now eager to make up for lost time as he sets his sights on the Rio 2016 Olympics.
“Obviously I was very disappointed to miss out on London and it was a difficult time for me,” he said.
“I got on the podium squad and went straight to the Europeans and got a bronze and I was really buzzing, but looking back on it I was very much rabbit-in-the-headlights.
“I knew it was always going to be a big ask for me to get to London but people were expecting such a lot from me and I don’t think that is necessarily such a bad thing.
“I was down on the dumps but when I saw all the other guys doing so well at the Games I thought, you know what, in four years’ time I’ll be in the prime of my career and this will be me.
“I really feel I’m set up for the next four years. I look back now and I can say I gave it my all and I didn’t quite make it, but it’s only made me stronger as a boxer.
“There’s no point being down about it. The Olympic qualifiers are one of the biggest and toughest events out there, and I’ve been there and next time I’ll know exactly what I’m getting into.
“Obviously because I came through so quickly it was a case of being thrown in at the deep end. But that is all in the past now and I’ve got the experience and the know-how and it’s already paying off with my results this year.”
© Sportsbeat 2013