WIVENHOE figure skater Ed Appleby is one of Team GB’s Flagbearers for the Vuokatti 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival.

Appleby, 17, is competing for Team GB at the competition, which is running this week in Finland.

He will compete in the Short program on Wednesday and the Free program, on Thursday.

He said: “I am so excited, albeit slightly surprised as I didn’t know that I had been nominated, so it came as a complete shock.

"But I’m completely honoured to have been chosen for it.

“Elaine (Chef de Mission Vuokatti 2022) gave me the news that I was going to be the Flagbearer and I got quite excited.

"I was in the car with my mum at the time we both got a bit giddy.

"I’m really proud and happy to have been recognised enough to be put forward.

“It’s surreal really to be put in the same position as some of the great athletes, like Andy Murray and Lizzy Yarnold.

"It’s a bit of an eye-opener to realise that as long as I keep working hard for it, I have a good chance of being able to follow them.

“I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work for it all, so I hope that I can complete a clean skate in both the short and free programs.”

Team GB announced a ten-strong team for Vuokatti 2022 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival (EYOF),

Team GB will have representation in six of the nine disciplines, with athletes participating in a mixture of alpine skiing, biathlon, figure skating, Nordic combined, short track speed skating and snowboarding.

Appleby added: “I’m really looking forward to Vuokatti 2022. It’s an event that I’ve been building up to for a while, so I’m over the moon to be chosen for it.

“My main objective is to have a completely clean skate as I’ve been training a lot for it and I really want to reflect that hard work in my performance.

"I also want to get a grasp on what an Olympic event is like, as it’s my ambition to compete and qualify for an Olympic Games in the future.”