01 July 2009

Christine Ohuruogu captivated the imagination of a group of young athletes at the first Aviva UKA Academy training session at her training base, Lee Valley Athletics Centre on Tuesday 30 June

As an Ambassador of the programme, Christine led a training session and passed on tips and advice to the young athletes, some travelling over an hour to meet our Olympic Champion.

Christine said: “It was great fun; I hope they all enjoyed it. I just want to inspire them to stay involved in athletics and make it fun; track and field should never be boring.”

Maya Mohindra, age 12 from Ilford added:

“I have just got into athletics as I started at secondary school this year and I won the 200m at school recently.  I have followed Christine on TV since she won in Beijing so when I saw the competition on the UKA website; I really wanted to win a place!

“It’s not every day you meet an Olympic Champion. I always get nervous before a race, but she told me to focus on how I run and never give up until the end, when you cross the line. It was amazing to meet her! I’m hoping to join an athletics club now and take part in Startrack in the holidays.”

Places are still up for grabs for young athletes aged 8-15 to win a place at a training session with an Aviva GB & NI team athlete this summer, ahead of the IAAF World Championships.

There are 12 sessions being held across the UK, with a new session being added for Scotland soon.

Phillips Idowu, Olympic  Silver medallist has now signed up as an Ambassador for the Aviva UKA Academy, along with Britain’s No.1 Heptathlete Jess Ennis. Jess Ennis will be hosting a training session in Sheffield and Manchester very soon. Jess started her athletics career by taking part in Startrack at Don Valley Stadium, which is part of the Aviva UKA Academy.

Jess said: “The Aviva UKA Academy training sessions are a great way to meet GB & NI team athletes this summer. I remember as a 10 year old taking part in Startrack in Sheffield, it was my first introduction to the sport in the summer holidays and I was hooked from that point.

“My advice to any young athletes is to check now where your nearest training session is taking place on the UKA website. Then check out where you can do more athletics this summer through the Aviva UKA Academy.”

Click here to see the full list of Aviva UKA Academy training sessions for 8-15 year olds.