Family business Springfield Properties has announced a sponsorship partnership with Team GB Taekwondo athlete and Olympic hopeful, Damon Sansum.

Born in Elgin, Damon was recruited by Team GB in 2011. Since then he has won 16 medals, including seven gold. He is reining Vice World Champion, European Vice Champion, Commonwealth Champion and currently ranked third in the world.

With Springfield Properties chairman, Sandy Adam, closely invested with sports at present as plans for the new Moray Sports Centre quickly progress; he wanted to support Damon where possible.

Springfield managing director, Innes Smith, said: “Damon is a fantastic role model. His success is the result of hard work and determination. He faces every challenge head on and gets results. We are delighted to be working with him as he takes on his latest challenge to become a member of Team GB in Rio 2016.”

The sponsorship will allow Damon to focus more on his training. He is training tirelessly in Manchester to ensure he is at the top of his game for the selection tournaments next year.

He said: “The sponsorship from Springfield will make all the difference for me. I’ll be able to concentrate on my intense training which will help my chances of taking a gold medal back home to Moray.”

Having finished within the top eight at the Grand Prix final in Mexico this month, Damon’s chances of being selected for the 2016 Olympics are high.

Damon said: “Team GB won’t announce who will be competing in the Olympics until June. Their decision will be based on how I perform at the Sport Election Tournaments, a series of four competitions, the first of which, The Dutch Open, will take place in March.”

He added: “I’m so excited but nervous at the same time – winning a gold medal at the Olympics would mean everything to me. All I can do is my best, I want to make my friends, family and Scotland proud.”