She won gold in the Grade C girls' 4x100m relay and two silver medals in the 100m and 200m sprints at the 2010-11 Inter-school Athletics Championships (Division One, HK Island & Kowloon). She is hoping to win her first individual gold medal in the 100m at this year's event, which starts today.

Soundbite

'I was in Primary Four at Tin Shui Wai Government Primary School when I took part in the school's athletic meeting,' Phoebe says.

'I did surprisingly well and my school sent me to compete in the Yuen Long District inter-school championships.

'Ko Chi-hang, my club's coach, was at that competition looking for potential athletes and suggested I get my teacher to help me apply for training. I didn't know much about athletics - I just thought it would look good on my resume - but eventually started my regular training with my club that summer before I started in Primary Five.

'At the time, I was taking medication for asthma, but running helped cure my illness.

'I started to win some prizes in local competitions ... and I could feel I was improving as a runner thanks to the training.'

'I got a letter from the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association two weeks ago, telling me that I'd been chosen to represent Hong Kong at the International Children's Games in Daegu, South Korea, in July. This will be my first international event. I'm going to run in the 4x100m team. I hope we can do well together.'

From her coach

'Phoebe did really well when completing an intensive training schedule over the Christmas and Lunar New Year holidays,' Ko says. 'Since then both her endurance and consistency have improved greatly.'

Ambitions

'I want more opportunities to compete in major events,' Phoebe says. 'This year I want to beat the rivals I've never beaten before. I'll also try to break my age group record in the 100m.

'But my long-term target is to get into the Hong Kong squad within two years.'