The 18-year-old has linked up with the M11 Track Club in Manchester, where she will train alongside some of Britain’s leading athletes, including Paris 2024 800 metres gold medallist Hodgkinson and Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Hunter Bell.

Belshaw, who competes in the 800m and 1500m, will now be coached by Trevor Painter and former world medallist Jenny Meadows, who have helped establish M11 as one of the country’s leading training groups.

They will work in conjunction with her Colchester Harriers coach Dave Smith as Belshaw looks to take the next step in her hugely promising athletics career.

Belshaw has finished her studies at Colchester Royal Grammar School and will now concentrate fully on athletics as a professional athlete.

The teenager had been due to continue her education and athletics career at university in the United States but turned down that opportunity after being invited to join the M11 set-up in Manchester.

She said: “So, this year I was supposed to be studying aboard but I actually decided to stay in the UK - after connecting with M11, we both thought this would be a good move.

Talent - Colchester Harriers runner Lyla Belshaw (Image: Newsquest Ltd)

“Since starting running, I’ve done quite a lot of training on my own and I think coming into M11 will ultimately make me work harder and become a better runner.”

It represents an exciting new chapter for the Colchester youngster, who remains part of the UK Athletics Olympic Futures Programme and is regarded as one of the country's brightest middle-distance prospects.

Belshaw underwent testing with her new training group in Manchester last week and is currently altitude training in the Pyrenees.

She is then due to head to South Africa for warm-weather training as preparations continue for the next stage of her career.

The opportunity will see Belshaw working alongside athletes who have already enjoyed success on the biggest stage, most notably Hodgkinson, who became Olympic 800m champion in Paris in 2024.

M11, named after the Manchester postcode in which it is based, has developed an international reputation under Painter and Meadows.

The group has grown to almost 30 athletes, with a philosophy of keeping the environment enjoyable until it is time to compete, alongside a demanding training programme incorporating high-intensity sessions and cross-training.

Its profile has risen considerably following the success of Hodgkinson and fellow members of the group, including Hunter Bell and Lewis Davey, at the Paris Olympics.

Exciting times - Lyla Belshaw (Image: NEWSQUEST)

Painter and Meadows are thorough when deciding which athletes are the right fit for their set-up, making Belshaw's invitation another significant endorsement of her potential.

The move follows another impressive year for the Colchester Harriers runner.

Belshaw represented the Novuna Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Oregon, USA, in August, reaching the women's 1500m final.

She finished eighth in 4mins 23.49secs to secure a top-ten placing on the world stage.

Now, rather than heading across the Atlantic for the next chapter of her development, Belshaw will continue that journey closer to home alongside an Olympic champion and under the guidance of one of Britain's most successful coaching teams.

And having already established herself as one of the country's most exciting young middle-distance runners, she will hope the move to Manchester can help propel her towards the next level.