A Crieff canoeist is hoping to make a huge splash at the Olympics in Rio - and then get swept home with a gold medal.

Fiona Pennie is the 11 times British champion slalom canoeist and will this week travel to Brazil to prepare for her second Olympic Games.

The 33-year-old had a disappointing time when she last competed in Beijing in 2008, but Fiona is in fine form, having recently won the European Championships.

She is now aiming to take her achievements in the white water sport to the top level by earning a medal in Rio.

Former Morrison’s Academy pupil Fiona said: “I’m getting really excited about it all now and just picked up my kit recently.

“My selection for Team GB was last October so this has been quite a long time in coming, but we’ve been over there quite a lot for training camps and have got a good feel for the area now.

“I’ve been there five times now, including a test event in November. Since March, we’ve been there for two weeks every month and now know the place very well.

“White water is always changing so it’s good to practice as much as possible so I’m best prepared for whatever course is set out on the day.

“There are a lot of big names racing so you can’t take anything for granted, and this sport is so inconsistent due to the water conditions so sometimes the results are really surprising.

“It’s very, very hard to perform well all the time.

“But experience is key and I’ll doing everything I can to medal.”

Fiona lived in Helensburgh until the age of four before her parents moved to Crieff, where they both still live.

The athlete learned to paddle a kayak at the age of five and began competing in