A charitable social enterprise that helps young sportspeople with free access to sports facilities in the UK will see 44 athletes it supports compete in Rio this summer.

The GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) has supported 2,100 athletes this year, with 44 of them competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics and Paralympics.

The body is the charitable arm of not-for-profit GLL – which runs more than 100 leisure and fitness centres, libraries and community spaces on behalf of local authorities.

Support usually begins from regional level competition all the way through to Olympic and Paralympic standard.

As well as access to facilities, athletes benefit from financial support to help with rent, travel, rehabilitation and training. They also sometimes receive coaching.

The support available is dependent on the level at which the athlete performs.

Athletes who have received support from GSF will be competing in athletics, fencing, swimming, table tennis, basketball, cycling and hockey, among other sports.

Since its inception in 2008, the Foundation has provided more than £6.1m worth of bursaries in support of British talent. A spokesperson said “Some 90 per cent of the athletes GSF supports do not receive any other funding".

Swimmer Aimee Willmott has benefited from the Foundation's support and is grateful for the support. She said: “The GLL Sport Foundation provides great support for talented athletes and I myself have benefited from this. The support from the GSF is amazing. Having another team believe in my potential is really encouraging.

“The funding allowed me to compete in France recently in an international competition, from which I learnt a great deal. The funding and support continues to help with all aspects of training.”