Thornton Heath triple-jumper Julien Allwood believes rubbing shoulders on a daily basis with London 2012 medal contender Chris Tomlinson can catapult him onto the podium at this weekend’s senior UK Indoor Championships in Sheffield.

The 19-year-old joined up with a training group – containing world indoor silver medallist Tomlinson, and World Championship fifth-place triple-jumper Yamile Aldama – last summer and believes he is ready to show off the benefits.

“I am coached by Larry Achike [British triple jumper who finished fifth at the 2000 Olympics] now so I am jumping consistently in training,” he said.

“I was with him last summer trying to break myself into the group and now I’m established in it which is great for me.

“Having the likes of Chris and Yamile in there is fantastic and a lot of those older guys take me under their wing and show me a lot of things I never knew before.

“There is no doubt that a big personal best is coming, I’m very sure of that. It’s just a matter of when.

“There is definitely a chance of a medal if I get it right at the indoors and then, onto the outdoors, I want to break into that UK top 10 and really start to make a push at senior level.

“I am still in my first year at U23s but there is no reason why I can’t challenge the seniors and upset a few.”

Allwood took a break from his preparation by helping Lloyds TSB, who fund him £1,000 a year through their Local Heroes scheme, launch world sport day last month – getting a behind-closed-doors tour of the Olympic site in the process.

“It was really good to actually go into the Olympic site because I have never been inside the park,” he added.

“The more people I can upset the better this year and hopefully that will put me in a good position to qualify for the European U23 Championships next year – that is my big aim.”

Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week, the UK’s biggest school sporting event, takes place from June 25 to 29. This year, the week will open with London 2012 World Sport Day, celebrating the world’s arrival in the UK for the greatest festival of sport. Find out more and support your local school at lloydstsb.com/ london2012.