A TALENTED young athlete is targeting a place at the Commonwealth Games after making a splash at the European Junior Diving Championships.

Libby Duke was part of the British squad that travelled to Poland earlier this month and she came home with a silver medal and a sixth place over the two events.

The teenager, who made the switch from swimming to diving seven years ago, has her sights set on representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in 2026, which are currently without a host city.

She said: “The aim is definitely for the Commonwealth Games.

“There has been a bit of a problem with whether it is going to go ahead and countries have dropped out, but I am aiming towards that level.

“At the start of next year, I will no longer be a junior and I will be a senior, which makes GB selection harder because I will be up against people like Grace Reid [two-time Olympian].

“I will just keep working.”

Dedication and working hard is something that the former Ross High School pupil is certainly known for.

She trains eight times a week at Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Pool and also takes part in two weight sessions in the Capital.

Furthermore, she also coaches and works part-time in Haddington’s Greggs.

Libby Duke returned from Poland with a silver medal

Libby Duke returned from Poland with a silver medal

The 18-year-old told Courier Sport: “I like that diving is challenging.

“It is both mentally and physically challenging.

“To go up there, you have to have bravery and it is so technical.

“You have got to make tiny changes and you have got to have good dedication.”

The hard work paid off in Rzeszów, where Duke and her partner Kate Gardner came second in the Girls’ A/B Synchronised Platform.

The Edinburgh Diving Club athlete and her partner from Leeds finished just 12 points behind eventual winners Alisa Mieshkova and Diana Shevshenko of Ukraine, on 241.35 points.

Third place went to the German pairing of Jule Leonie Eisenberg and Charlotte Lederer, who finished two points behind the British duo.

Individually, Duke also performed well, taking an excellent sixth place in the Girls A 1m Springboard on 334.70 points – showing her versatility across platform disciplines.

Impressively, that success came after a last-minute hitch.

READ MORE: Commonwealth Games hope for dive star Libby

Duke, of Tranent, who used to swim for Tranent Amateur Swimming Club, had been due to compete alongside a fellow diver from London.

However, she pulled out and Duke and Gardner linked up on the back of just one training session before jetting out to the championships.

The county athlete said: “I was chuffed with that performance.

“It was a last-minute pairing in the synchro and to come second was a big achievement.

“We were chuffed with that and, for my first individual European final, I was very happy with that.”

The success in the pool came while two of her former colleagues in the pool were also enjoying success.

Stefan Krawiec and Luke Hornsey had swam together at Tranent Amateur Swimming Club, while Duke and Hornsey had gone to school together at the town’s Sanderson’s Wynd Primary School.

Both Krawiec and Hornsey were part of the British squad competing at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Lithuania.