Scott Dixon has always dreamed of being an Olympian.
Now the biathlete’s dream is still alive because of a childrens’ story he wrote for his little sister and brother.
The story “Pup the Brave” has funded the British number one’s training and qualifying events for the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February.
The 23-year-old from Kingussie hopes to have booked his seat on the plane for Pyeongchang when the team is announced on January 21.
And it’s all down to that little book written for four-year-old Mia and two-year-old Max.
Last week Scott, who has been training for six years with the 2018 Games as his goal, said: ”If it wasn’t for Pup the Brave it would not be happening.”
Scott was living and training in Lillehammer in Norway when he first thought about a book.
He said: ”I was out on my bike when the idea came to me. You can’t be thinking about technique all the time.
“When you are out cycling it is a good opportunity to daydream. Initially it was for Mia and Max to remind them of me because their big brother is away from home so much. Then I thought I could use it to raise money to pay for travel expenses.
“It took me about a year to write in rest periods between training. I don’t sleep between training sessions. I wake up so moody. So I don’t sleep. I used the time to write the story and I had to learn to draw to illustrate it.
“It’s about a brave pup and it’s battle for survival. A bit of an underdog story about beating the odds. Don’t read too much into that.
“Mia loves it. I was amazed just how many people wanted it too. I set a target of £4,000 for crowdfunding.
“I raised the cash needed very quickly, in about five weeks. My thanks to everyone who contributed.”
Now the book written for his wee sister and brother is on sale on Amazon.
Mike is a biathlon legend who has represented Britain at several Olympic Games. He is only the seventh athlete from any country to have competed at six Winter Games.