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Gold medal sprinter Leon inspires students
Leon Baptiste at students at the college recreate Usain Bolt's famous pose during the visit
A British and Commonwealth sprint champion visited Lutterworth College as part of a project aiming to inspire students across the country.
Leon Baptiste, who won gold in the 200m at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010, was at the college as part of the Sky Sports Living for Sport Project (SSLFS).
Baptiste spent the morning with the PE department before treating pupils to a demonstration of his explosive sprinting capability during lunchtime.
Pupils completed an intense fitness session focusing on aspects such as reaction time, core strength and the importance of rest in between training.
The second half of the session was geared towards decision making in key situations, thinking under pressure and concluded with a question and answer session.
Baptiste also spent time with GCSE and BTEC sport students, dealing with issues such as drugs in sport and the ability to deal with stress.
The 27-year-old sprinter began his sporting career as a footballer but a serious knee injury at the age of 14 forced him to convert to athletics.
Attending his first athletics trials at the age of 15, within two years Baptiste was competing at a national level.
He won two gold medals at the 2003 European Junior Championships and was named Junior Male Athlete of the Year by the British Athletics Writers Association.
A reoccurrence of his knee injury in 2005 meant five months on the sidelines.
Poor performances following his return led Baptiste to consider quitting the sport but with determination and help from his family he came back to win gold in Delhi.
His greatest ambition was to represent Team GB at London 2012, but unfortunately a training injury shattered his Olympic dreams.
He has been mentoring as part of the SSLFS programme during his recovery.
Miss K Wilson, PE Teacher at Lutterworth College said “Leon’s work with gifted and talented sports students and the various other groups throughout the day was a wonderful success and the students were a credit to the school, being insightful, creative and thoughtful. I feel inspired, not only by Leon and his story but the students and their approach to the day and the future.”
Baptiste said: “I hope my story inspires young people to never give up on their dreams. With hard work, perseverance and the support of your family you can achieve anything.”
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Weather for Market Harborough
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light rain
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