|
Coe meets NI Sporting Talent
As part of a one day visit to Northern Ireland to promote the benefits of the 2012 Olympic Games Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games visited Sport Northern Ireland. During the visit to the House of Sport Sebastian met with potential and current high performing athletes which included attendees from a Talent Orientation Camp jointly hosted by Sport Northern Ireland and the University of Ulster, medalists from the recent UK School Games and members of the Sports Institute Northern Ireland.
Welcoming Seb to the House of Sport, Professor Eric Saunders OBE commented: “It is a great pleasure to have you with us today. Being the first athlete in history to win the 1500m in two successive Olympic Games is an achievement which I think speaks for itself. I am sure our young athletes who have this great opportunity to meet you today will be inspired by this visit.”
The athletes had the chance to meet and chat with Seb who reflected on his past as a former Olympian and spoke on his current role as Chair of 2012. As he addressed the athletes he commented: “I am delighted to be here to highlight the opportunities that the 2012 Games can bring to the people of Northern Ireland. It is a great pleasure to meet some of Northern Ireland’s potential 2012 athletes and to hear of their success and progress. The London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games represents a once in a life-time opportunity for the whole of the UK that has to be seized both on and off the sporting field.”
During the visit Seb learned of the important structures and frameworks that Northern Ireland has in place to ensure that talented athletes are identified, nurtured and afforded the best possible opportunities to succeed.
Speaking on these support frameworks Professor Saunders commented: “We know that Northern Ireland’s public want to experience the feel good factor associated with international sporting success. To that end, Sport Northern Ireland is working with a range of partners to create the required world-class high performance system that will enable our talented athletes to compete with the best. All the athletes here today are an example of the structures that are in place; the Talent Orientation Camp athletes where our sporting stars of the future discovered the diverse elements needed to reach the top, the UK School Games medalists who were selected by their governing body of sport, and finally the athletes who receive world-class services from the expert staff at the Sports Institute. The Institute is the cementing of a successful partnership between Sport Northern Ireland, the University of Ulster and the Governing Bodies of sport. It brings the necessary level of planning, quality and co-ordination to the provision of high performance sporting services to our talented athletes.”
Professor Saunders concluded his address by stressing Sport Northern Ireland and its partners commitment to the process of Talent Identification and Talent Development. He concluded: “This is a long term process and one which by no means comes cheap. Research has indicated that it cost competing countries £2.4m to win a medal at the Athens Olympic Games; this figure alone illustrates the need for continued long-term investment in high performance sport if our athletes are to succeed at the highest level.” |
