Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu has been back to her old school in Essex to give a boost to grassroots athletics.
The World and Olympic 400m gold medallist returned to St Edward’s CofE School in Romford to unveil the Aviva UK Athletics Academy, which aims to get more children involved in the sport.
“Just having a go at a few different things helped me discover my ability as an athlete,” she said. “The encouragement I got both at home and the inspiration I received from my PE teacher ended up changing my life.”
The Aviva academy offers competitions for pupils, regardless of age, level or ability. It also offers teacher-training tools to encourage inter-school competitions and summer holiday programmes. Aviva said it would invest Pounds 20.5 million by 2012, the year of the London Olympics. dm.