Sprinter Olivia Caesar may be small, but she is mighty.

The athlete, from Holmer Green, will join hundreds of Britain’s finest athletes at BUCS Nationals next week in Sheffield.

She is hoping to use her diminutive stature to her advantage as she competes in the 400m and 4x200m races, after claiming a gold and silver in her last two BUCS Nationals outings.

“Because the 400 is two laps indoors, it’s definitely more tactical,” said the 21-year-old.

“This is all about the positioning, where you’re at for the bell.

“You’ve just got to think about your position for the first 200 and get that out of the way, and then from the last two, you just give whatever you’ve got left.

“A lot of the hurdlers say they prefer over hurdles because they’ve got something to think about as opposed to the flat, so I feel like you can kind of translate that to the indoors. 

“I’m quite a small runner which helps me, whereas a lot of the tall runners find it more difficult. I like it”

The BUCS indoor athletics championships are held at Sheffield’s English Institute of Sport from February 16-18 and are part of BUCS Nationals, which sees multiple sports come together for one action-packed weekend in south Yorkshire.

“In Sheffield, in the whole environment, you’re just focused on what’s going on, on the track,” she continued.

“You’re able to see what’s going on, able to hear what’s going on.

“When you’re running, people are so close to the track. It’s a great atmosphere to bounce off.

“It’s all a bit more intense.”

Caesar, a fourth-year sport and exercise science student, credits her coach, Colin Bovell, for helping her balance athletics and her degree.

And now the dreaded January exams are over, Caesar is looking ahead to BUCS and beyond.

“During exams a lot of us were quite stressed and although we might think we’re not, it’ll play a part on our bodies,” she added.

“He’ll be like, take a rest day, take a rest weekend.

“Whilst we may want to carry on, he’s the sensible one who says no!

“The plan is to stay in Bath and do a Masters. I’m just looking to stay with my coach at the moment because I’m finding working with him really well.

“I’m hoping to progress and improve my times from last year.

“For BUCS, it’s a slightly smaller team than we’ve taken in past years because of the way it’s fallen with the British Championships, and a couple of others are injured.

“We’ll all be there cheering each other on and normally, we’re all very supportive of one another.

“There’ll always be someone there watching a race.”

BUCS Nationals powered by Muhdo is the largest annual multi-sport event in the UK, bringing the best of Britain’s university athletes together to compete across eight different sports in Sheffield. 

More info at bucs.org.uk and via #BUCSNationals.