David Beckham and Jonnie Peacock were reunited today over a decade after their first meeting, this time to inspire young athletes heading to the Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games.The sporting icons shared invaluable advice and support to prepare the athletes for the event, which takes place at various sporting venues across Manchester, this weekend.
LONDON, 2014-9-4 — /EPR Retail News/ — David and Jonnie first met in 2000, when Jonnie was only seven. Jonnie credits this meeting as a pivotal moment that motivated him on his path to School Games glory followed by the ultimate prize, winning gold at London 2012.
As part of Sainsbury’s ‘Show your Support’ campaign, Beckham and Peacock spoke of their experiences and gave advice on achieving their goals, managing pressure and success, and the importance of resilience. The pair held a special motivational session with a group of rising sports stars against the backdrop of the iconic London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Cauldron at the Museum of London.
The young athletes, some of the nation’s future Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, head to the Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games in Manchester this Thursday to Sunday (4–7 September), along with 1,600 other budding stars aged 11-17.
The Sainsbury’s School Games has provided thousands of school-aged athletes with a true taste of high level competition. The multi-sport Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games sees the nation’s elite young sports people compete in twelve current Olympic and Paralympic sports, including a full athletics programme, swimming, badminton and wheelchair basketball.
Jonnie Peacock, Paralympic gold medalist and World Champion explains: “Meeting the young athletes about to take part in the Sainsbury’s School Games brought back heaps of memories for me as I remember exactly what it’s like to be in their shoes. Obviously it was fantastic to meet David again too, and incredible to think how much has happened since we last met. I hope the support and encouragement we have given the young athletes today will be equally as memorable and motivating to them as my meeting with David was to me all those years ago.”
Sainsbury’s Active Kids ambassador, David Beckham, added: “The group of young athletes we met today are at such an exciting time in their sporting careers. It was brilliant to see the enthusiasm and motivation for sport that Jonnie and I both recognised in ourselves at that age. As well as giving them advice from the pressures of competition to bouncing back from setbacks, the kids had a few words of wisdom for us too! I’d like to wish all the athletes heading to Manchester for the Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games best of luck in their competition.”
Sainsbury’s is a proud partner of the School Games which has enabled millions of children to participate in competitive sport across the country. More information on the Sainsbury’s School Games can be found at www.2014schoolgames.com.
The Sainsbury’s School Games is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and is delivered by Youth Sport Trust. Other partners include the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department of Health and British Paralympic Association.
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