As the London 2012 Roadshow bus arrived in Lincolnshire, East Midlands, it was greeted by an ominous gathering of storm clouds and one of the most spectacular displays of thunder and lightning that the area has seen for some time. Fears about soggy athlet
Curling, with the London 2012 bus in the background:
Roger Black was on hand throughout the day to offer sporting encouragement and share his experiences and Olympic Athletes such as Jenny Pacey and Marc Spackman gave talks and question and answer sessions to give the audience the inside track on what it really means to be an Olympian.
The challenge website and message boards on the bus proved hugely popular with pledges ranging from training to get gold medals and eating more healthily to falling in love, passing GCSEs and tidying up more.
Lincolnshire Sports Partnership were definitely kept busy as hundreds of school groups arrived empty handed and came away with leaflets and details about how to get involved with their local sports clubs.
Lewis Garton (aged 11) from Fosse Way Primary School in Lincoln tested out what sport he would be suited to at the National Lottery Dream Stats stand: “My jumping height was over 50cm and the Roadshow man told me that the average man can only jump 25cm!
"I told Marc Spackman (Olympic Swimmer) who told me about winning at the Olympics and said I should keep training and write down my results so I can see if I improve. Now I want to do more sport and beat my record.”
110m hurdler David Hughes has the qualifying time for Beijing of 13.2. Originally from the local area in Gainsborough, he has fond memories of coming to the Lincolnshire Show when he was young and really got involved today, teaching kids the fine art of sprint starts on the stand.
He told me: "Being part of the London 2012 Roadshow today was a great experience. I feel honoured to be recognised for my achievements and invited to such events. The team here have done a great job; the whole event is very colourful and full of charisma.
"The Roadshow has attracted loads of enthusiastic kids and I hope we can encourage them to get involved in sport. All round the day has been a great success and a great way to raise awareness of 2012 and get people involved."
The sun was still shining as the Roadshow closed its doors for the day, ready to kick start more motivation and inspiration tomorrow.
