Even just pulling on his Team GB kit has got Cheavon Clarke fired up to bring home a gold medal from Minsk.

The heavyweight boxer has represented England at the Commonwealth Games but this is something else.

Clarke, from Gravesend, is one of 10 men fighting for Great Britain and the squad also includes two female boxers.

He said: “It’s very rare we get to compete with our female team-mates and other sports so it’ll be good to see how other athletes prepare and what they go through.

“It’ll also be good to be Team GB. When I collected my kit, I just felt different. I felt like I’d finally achieved something, that I was actually Team GB – not just GB Boxing but Team GB. That in itself will inspire me.

“We’re going there to make the most of the experience and the competition.

“Everybody wants to win a gold medal and we are among the best in the world so we should expect nothing less than the best.”

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Clarke, 28, travelled 3,000 miles to gear up for the European Games.

He said: “Training has been really gruelling. I went out to Kazakhstan a few weeks ago and boxing is their national sport so it’s been great preparation for us boxers going into the European Games.

“It’s a different culture but the people made us feel welcome.”

With the Olympics on the horizon, Clarke knows a good showing in Minsk will help his cause for Tokyo selection.

“That’s the big objective – but one step at a time,” he said. “I’ll deal with one competition at a time but the main goal is to go to the Olympics and get a medal.”

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