Liam Tancock, the world 50 metres backstroke world record holder, Sarah Stevenson, recent winner at the Taekwondo World Championships, and Andy Turner, the European and Commonwealth 110m hurdles champion, will act as mentors to the seven talented young athletes identified by SportsAid who have already been given £1,000 training ($1,622) awards and selected to attend the Bring on Tomorrow Foundation.

The initiative has been co-launched by For Goodness Shakes, the UK sports recovery brand.

However, there is still one vacancy on the programme and there has been a rush of interest from athletes aged between 16-23 who are being invited to lay claim to it by entering a competition entitled "The Final Place"; details of which are available on the Foundation website.

Entrants can also visit the For Goodness Shakes Facebook page.

The level of competition is stiff given the involvement of the likes of Jackson, the 22-year-old from Newcastle-under-Lyme who was fourth in last October's Commonwealth 1500m final, Gateshead Harrier Smith, two years her junior, who is England 800m champion, and Stevenson, a 22-year-old Teeside University student who has impressed in international 1500m and cross country races.

The competition, which has only been open for a fortnight, is likely to attract many more contenders before the closing date of July 27, which marks one year to go until the Opening Ceremony of London 2012. 

The majority of those who have already put their name in the frame are British junior or under 23 performers across a range of sports.

Those named so far are Katrina Cosby, 20, from Bromley in the 400m hurdles, Jack Waring, 16, from Sheffield in wheelchair basketball, Alex Welburn, 16, from Lichfield in mountain biking, Iain Mandale, 18, from Surbiton in rowing, Daniel Phillips, 17, from Manchester in swimming, Michael Watson, 18, from Stockton-on-Tees in boxing and Beth Worthington, 14, from Plymouth in taekwondo.

The scheme's three elite mentors all benefited from receiving the SportsAid Award early in their careers.

They will pass on advice, give guidance and support, and host a series of training and development days for the young athletes.

Tancock, a former world champion who won double Commonwealth gold in Delhi last year, commented: "The Bring on Tomorrow Foundation will make a huge difference in the development of these seven young athletes.

"Not only will the foundation provide support through funding, it will also offer a mentoring scheme, which I'm proud to be involved with.

"It can be a big leap from junior competition to reaching an Olympic Games, so I'm very happy and proud to be a shoulder to lean on for these youngsters as they progress."

Stuart Jeffreys, For Goodness Shakes founder and chief executive, added: "The long term commitment of the foundation is to work in partnership with SportsAid to help the next generation of British sporting talent.

"By making yearly donations to athletes involved in the foundation, For Goodness Shakes are supporting tomorrow's athletes today and providing them with the support they need to achieve their dreams."

Tim Lawler, chief executive of SportsAid, said: "This is a crucial time for British sport and it is through partnerships like this that SportsAid is able to give the funding and recognition that our brightest young hopes will build their careers on."

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