Son Yeonjae is just 18 and carries South Korea's Olympic aspirations on her agile young shoulders.

She's honing her rhythmic gymnastic skills to a standard she hopes will earn the country's first medal in the discipline.

And if that medal is a gleaming gold one, so much the better.

SOUNDBITE: SON YEONJAE, RHYTHMIC GYMNAST, SAYING (Korean):

"Once you are in the final everyone starts again from zero points. If I perform perfectly then, a good result will come."

Son is currently ranked 5th in the world.

She got her first domestic gold medal at the age of 11 but says she wasn't sure the sport or the training regime was for her.

SOUNDBITE: SON YEONJAE, RHYTHMIC GYMNAST, SAYING (Korean):

"I almost gave up in seventh grade. I actually stopped for a few days but that made me feel empty."

Despite her obvious talents things don't always go well.

Son was disqualified at a recent competition in Uzbekistan for borrowing another competitor's ribbon when her own snapped.

SOUNDBITE: SON YEONJAE, RHYTHMIC GYMNAST, SAYING (Korean):

"The music was still playing and people were watching me, some even clapping, so I just did my best as I wanted to complete my performance."

After the Olympics in London Son's focussing her sights on the 2013 World Championships in Ukraine and then the 2014 Asian Games on home territory.

Paul Chapman, Reuters