Sporting greats get behind Medway’s Olympic bid hopesFour Olympic sports stars arrived in Medway on 23 January 2007 to mark Medway:2012 days to the Olympics and support the area’s bid to be part of the 2012 Olympics. A raft of initiatives to increase participation in sport, healthy eating, training and coaching opportunities was announced. Sir Steve Redgrave, Steve Cram, Danny Crates and Steve Backley were special guests at a day-long series of events staged to underline the area’s commitment to the games. |
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The date marked 2,012 days until the opening ceremony for the London Olympics on 27 July 2012. Among the announcements were:
plans to create a centre of sporting excellence around the site of the Black Lion Leisure Centre;
the first Medway Disability Youth Games;
a bid to provide pre-games training camp facilities for Olympic competitors;
this website dedicated to Olympics-related news in Medway.
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Jeff Brown, Head of Operations at the University of Kent at Medway said: "As a university, we are committed to developing sporting excellence through the range of degree courses we offer. I am delighted to be able to welcome two such great sports stars to the campus, and being part of the official launch of Medway's 2012 ambitions." Portfolio Holder for Community Services Cllr Howard Doe said: “The announcements today underline our commitment to putting Medway firmly on the sporting map. |
“We have a great opportunity in this country to get excited, enthused and serious about sport. We also have an opportunity for everyone to take pride in Medway and the part that the area can play in the Olympics and beyond.’’
Medway: 2012 Days to the Olympics started with a special business breakfast with guest speaker, former javelin world record holder Steve Backley. The business breakfast - entitled Medway: Winning Business, was arranged by the newly-named Thames Gateway (Kent) Chamber of Commerce and Medway Council.
A secondary school table tennis tournament was staged at the Black Lion Leisure Centre, featuring about a hundred students from schools throughout Medway.
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A lunch reception was hosted by the University of Kent at Medway, where sports students were able to quiz special guests Steve Cram and 800m paralympic champion Danny Crates. Medway: 2012 Days to the Olympics culminated with a black tie dinner at the Corn Exchange, Rochester with a keynote address from the greatest name in Olympic history, Sir Steve Redgrave. |
More pictures from the whole day can be found in the Medway: 2012 days to the Olympics gallery.
Clcik here to go back to January 2007 news