Over 1,600 of the best school-aged
athletes this week made the most of their opportunity to compete in
the Olympic and Paralympic venues in the Sainsbury’s 2012 School
Games finals.
As competition in 12 sports reached is climax,
Prince Harry was named as President of the competition, which is
backed by National Lottery funding from Sport England.
On Monday and Tuesday badminton, fencing,
gymnastics, judo, table tennis, volleyball and wheelchair
basketball all took place at the ExCel Centre, while the final day
of competition on Wednesday saw athletics in the Olympic Stadium,
track cycling at the Velodrome and swimming at the Aquatics
Centre.
One competitor to revel in his time
on the big stage was Ronnie Wells from Somerset who stormed home to
win the boys’ 100m final in a personal best of 10.84 seconds.
“I came here just hoping to get a medal but to
end up with a gold is out of this world,” said Ronnie. “The
personal best is really pleasing too because it is wet weather and
not the best conditions, although I was hoping for rain because I
like running in the wet.
“I think the atmosphere inside the stadium
definitely helped me because as I was warming up I could hear the
crowd cheering which got me really pumped up. Competing in the
Olympic Stadium is something I will remember for a long time, and
winning the gold made it all the more exciting.”
Also enjoying their Olympic surrounds were
East Midlands duo Hannah Blount and Grace Garner who broke their
own national under-16 record in the heats to win the team sprint at
the Velodrome, while para-cycling pair Ryan Wahtmough and Joe
Widdowson took home six gold medals in both the road and track
cycling.
“Competing in the Olympic Park ahead of this
year’s Games is an amazing opportunity for these talented young
athletes,” said Jennie Price, Sport England Chief Executive.
“Their performances and those of the London 2012 athletes will help
us build a lasting legacy and inspire a generation to create a
sporting habit for life.”
Other sports taking place over the four days
were rugby 7s at Barking Rugby Club, hockey at Old Loughtonians and
road cycling at Redbridge Cycle Centre.
Supported by 700 volunteers and support staff,
the School Games finals were designed to mirror an Olympic
Games and give competitors are truly authentic experience with an
opening ceremony and welcome dinner on the Sunday evening at the
ExCel Centre and a closing ceremony at the Basketball Arena after
the final day of competition.
Commenting at the conclusion of the School
Games, Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Huge congratulations to
all the winners, runners up and everyone who took part in the
School Games Finals this week.
“Without a doubt, one of the most important
parts of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has always been the
legacy, so it’s brilliant to see over 12 000 schools signed up to
the School Games, encouraging children to take part in competitive
sport, and it’s very fitting that some of these young people are
amongst some of the first athletes to experience the thrill and
excitement of competing at the Olympic Stadium, Velodrome and
Aquatics Centre.
“Perhaps we have seen some of the great sports
heroes of the future compete this week, but more importantly, I
hope they will inspire many more young people to get involved in
sport.
“It’s a great way to mark the lead-up to the
2012 Games.”
Sport England commissioned the
Youth Sport Trust to deliver the Sainsbury’s 2012 School Games
finals event, part of the wider year round School Games initiative.
Over 13,000 schools signed up to the Games, which uses the
inspiration of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games to transform
competitive sport in schools and get more people playing sport.The
competition is a celebration of sports participation at every level
with class mates competing against each other, and school versus
school competitions along with county wide sports festivals.