As Rachel Cawthorn sat in her Team GB canoe before the final of the K1 500m final at the 2012 London Olympics, she did so with the soundtrack of Hercules ringing in her ears.

While tracks such as Eye of the Tiger might be better associated with motivation, the 26-year-old draws her inspiration from a selection of Disney songs before each race.

But she is also fuelled by the desire to better her sixth place finish in the aforementioned final, and if all goes to plan next year the Marlow based athlete will be stood on the podium at the Lagoa Stadium in Copacabana, Brazil after picking up the medal she missed out on by less than .400 seconds at Dorney Lake.

“It’s really good always having them there because it motivates you and drives you,” reflected Cawthorn on her experiences in 2012.

“I know what it felt like to be there and how much I want to be there again. I want to try and do better than I did last time so they’re really good motivation. It was an awesome experience to have had as well; it was unlike any event I’ve ever raced at.”

The former European champion spoke from a training camp on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte, where she is training with her Great Britain teammates to ensure they will be fully prepared for the conditions they will face at next year’s games.

Before that, though, there is the small matter of the European Games in Baku in June before Cawthorn heads to Italy for the Canoe Sprint World Championships in August.

The tournament also acts as the selection process for a place on the Team GB squad for Brazil, and the 2010 World Championships bronze medallist is looking to find her best form by the time she arrives at the Idroscalo Club in Milan.

She said: “Everyone will be on their game so it’s a really good chance to gage where you’re at going into the World Championships.

“You also don’t want to be peaking too soon before the Worlds, which is the big one. It’s a good chance to get out there and get the race practices done in a really tough field where it doesn’t matter too much.”

Cawthorn’s journey to becoming an Olympian began in 2004 when British Canoeing plucked her from a talent ID scheme they were running at her school in Guildford, in which they selected the top one per cent after a series of strength and fitness tests.

“I loved it straight away,” she said of discovering the sport. “Eventually I made the team and I’ve never looked back.”

From there she went to train with the GB squad before making the junior team in 2006, and an appearance at the Youth Olympics in Australia followed a year later.

She has since donned the GB jersey at six World Championships and seven European Games at senior level.

Representing her country is the ultimate thrill for Cawthorn, who is prepared to make the necessary sacrifices needed to ensure she has the best chance of coming back from South America with a medal next year.

A six-day week consisting of two to three sessions a day is the norm for Cawthorn, with a programme which includes yoga, pilates, running and paddling helping to whip her into the best possible shape, and she believes all the training is worth it by the time the big events roll around.

“It’s such a proud feeling to be there in that moment because everyone knows what it means and not any old person could just go and do it, you have to have worked really hard to be there,” she said.

“Everything in your whole life is surrounded by being the best you can be. What time you go to bed, what you eat all the time and whether you go out with friends or not.

“All of those little things mount up to make a big change. It’s definitely all worth it when you come away with a result at the end.”