Luke Campbell’s greatest disappointment has spurred him on to great things in another sporting field.

Two years ago, Luke, then 16, was released from Forest Green Rovers’ football academy.

“I was devastated,” said Luke. “I didn’t expect it and it knocked me for six.”

Press Luke a bit further and the one-time defender will admit that towards the end of his time at Forest Green it was the fitness side – and the running in particular – that he was actually enjoying more than the football.

As a result, the Cirencester College pupil joined Cirencester Athletics Club and started running on Tuesday nights.

Within weeks he was caught by the running bug. “I just loved it,” said Luke. “It helped that I was quite good at it but more than anything else it was something that I enjoyed.”

Not long after, Luke discovered triathlons – sprint triathlons to be precise – and since then his career has taken off.

So much so that he will be competing for the Great Britain under-20 team in the European Sprint Triathlon Championships in Dusseldorf at the end of June.

And if that goes well he is targeting a place in the under-20 world championships in September.

The sprint championships consist of a 750m open water swim, a 20km cycle ride and a 5km run and is half the distance that the Brownlee brothers, Jonny and Alistair, race.

“The sprint triathlon could have been designed for me,” chuckled Luke. “It’s the ideal distance for me. When I was just running, five kilometres was how far I’d go so I’ve just taken it from there.”

Such has been Luke’s progress that he has not ruled out challenging for a place in the 2022 Commonwealth Games although he added: “I’ll need to keep on improving if that is to happen.”

Luke, who reckons he got his love of triathlons from his dad Pete, is full of praise for Cirencester Athletics Club. “They’ve been amazing,” he said. “They’ve really helped me on my way and I can’t speak highly enough of the club.”