Naomi Cartwright from London writes about why we need more female sporting role models to inspire girls to take up sport.

Do you still remember what you wanted to be when you were younger? I wanted to be an Olympic Gold medalist. Whilst it is slightly disappointing now to realise that will probably never happen, I have loved every minute of the 2012 Olympics. From the very British Opening Ceremony to the overwhelming support for all our athletes now that the games are actually under way and the worries about public transport and ticketing grievances been forgotten, well apart from the empty sponsors seats…

Team GB has done amazingly well. Even when our athletes haven’t won medals, it must still be an incredible feeling just to compete, representing your country in an event that brings together the best of the best in the world. That’s what I’d tell my eight year old self anyway whose ambition for gold seems a little lofty when your realise just how dedicated these athletes are and how hard they train. Sport is quite literally their whole lives.

The participation of women and the successes of the female British athletes has been in the media a lot recently. I still can’t get my head round the fact that this is the first year that every country has sent female athletes to compete. It also seems hard to imagine that women were only allowed to take part in some Olympic sports, such as shooting as recently as 1984. That’s the year I was born.

Reader's Column: Girls need Sporting Role Models