Britain’s No 1 female discus thrower Jade Lally’s career has gone up a few gears this year and she is all but guaranteed a place in the Olympic team for Rio.

But the 29-year-old Commonwealth Games bronze medallist feels her progress could really motor with a new car that didn’t stiffen her back.

So the Sussex thrower, who set an English record while competing in Australia and New Zealand in February as part of her winter preparations, has set her sights on car dealerships for sponsorship.

Lally, born and brought up in South London, broke the English record twice in three days in February, throwing a huge personal best of 64.22 metres in Auckland then extending that to 65.10 metres in Sydney two days later. And it was after returning from competing and training in California in the United States that Lally realised the impact her tiny 2010 Ford Fiesta was having.

“I was driving around a Jeep in California and got back here and drove for 15 minutes and my back had really stiffened up,” said Lally, who is a personal trainer at Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre.

“It’s the physical position I’m in when driving it. I need something that’s more upright. Basically, my hips need to be above my knees when I drive. I’ve also got training equipment and a massage bed to fit in ideally, so if there’s anyone out there who’d be a car sponsor I’d be interested to hear from them.”

In the short-term, she has been lent a VW Bora by her coach Andy Neal’s wife Sandra, allowing her to train pain free.

“The actual seat is actually very good, so it has solved it short term, but I still do need a solution for longer term,” said Lally.

Lally has a total of five throws over the 61.00 metre British Athletics qualifying standard and only needs to finish in the top two in the national championships in Birmingham on June 24-26 to secure her place for Rio. None of her British rivals have thrown more than 56 metres.

Lally, who failed in an appeal to compete at London 2012, won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 and, this year for the first time, competes regularly on the Diamond League circuit. As well as a place in the final at Rio this year, she also has the World Championships in London 2017 firmly in her sights.

“I’m much happier than I was four years ago,” Lally said, “I’m happy with my training and everything else apart from my car – that’s the one situation I really want to fix.”

• Can you help Jade achieve her Olympic dream? Then contact Ian Lamont (07719 391179)