Olympic Champion visits Cumberland

OLYMPIC CHAMPION TO PATRON GAMES

Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu MBE will be the official patron of the 2010 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games, which was launched at Cumberland School on Friday 8th January.

Christine is the UK’s most successful athlete of recent years, having won gold at the 2007 World Athletics Championships and 2006 Commonwealth Games to go alongside her famous victory in Beijing in 2008.

As a youngster, she cut her competitive teeth at the London Youth Games, representing her borough of Newham in netball and athletics. The Balfour Beatty London Youth Games are Europe’s biggest annual youth sport event. In 2009, the Games saw over 47,000 participants from 33 boroughs taking part in 30 different sports.Christine said: “I am really happy to be patron of the 2010 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games. It is an event which holds a lot of fond memories for me.“When I was a youngster, the games were always one of the highlights of the year. It was always very competitive, but also lots of fun too. There was always a great spirit among your team-mates and healthy rivalry between each of the boroughs.“It was a really rewarding experience in my early days in sport and I know it continues to be a massively popular event right across the city.

Anthony Kendall, Chairman, London Youth Games said: “It is an honour to have a sportsperson of the standing of Christine Ohuruogu as our patron for 2010. She has come a long way from being a young netballer representing Newham at the London Youth Games to becoming one of the world’s finest athletes.“She is the perfect example of how a positive sporting experience at a young age can lead on to so much more in life. With Christine’s support we are looking to build on the huge success of last year as we strive to make this year’s Balfour Beatty London Youth Games the biggest and best yet.”