Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Sport | Posted on October 29th, 2024 | return to news
Parade for Olympic and Paralympic athletes inspires people from BCP
Athletes from Dorset who competed in the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games this year paraded through BCP in an inspiring open-top bus tour.
By Jecs Davies
Five Olympic and Paralympic athletes from Dorset paraded around Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole on Monday 28 October in an inspiring open-top bus tour.
The athletes included Bryony Page, who won a gold medal in trampolining at the Paris Olympics, and her fellow trampolinist Izzy Songhurst. Alongside them was Matt Aldridge, who got bronze in rowing at the Olympics, Jack Eyres who got silver in canoeing at the Paralympics and Leo McCrea, who also competed in the Paralympics in swimming and won gold.
From 10:15am to 3pm, the athletes rode around on a unique bus stopping at three BCP leisure centres throughout the day: Two Riversmeet in Christchurch followed by King’s Park in Bournemouth and finally Rossmore in Poole.
There was a cheerleading display at Kings Park and a trampolining display at Rossmore after Cllr Millie Earl’s speech to conclude the celebration.
Millie Earl, leader of BCP Council, said: “I’m really proud of what our area has to offer and the opportunities we have for local people to access sport and leisure.
“It’s wonderful to be able to share this moment to recognise the achievements of our local Olympians and Paralympians and their coaches and to thank them for inspiring us all to aim high and work hard.”
Inspiring the younger generation to participate in a sport was an aim among all the athletes.
Leo McCrea said: “For me, today has been about inspiring all the people that have come to see us. We’ve had a really amazing turnout, I wasn’t expecting so many people.
“The other athletes have been so nice and sharing all our different sports, swimming trampolining, rowing and canoeing, has made it a really special day.”
Leo is 20 years old and hopes to compete in a few more Paralympic Games. He has set his sights on Los Angeles in 2028, but until then will train for the European and World championships.
Jack Eyres said: “Today has been really good, I’ve really enjoyed it. The recognition that we’ve got from BCP has just been awesome. The weather hasn’t been particularly on our side but people have still turned up and shown good energy.”
When asked what advice he would give to someone with a disability starting a sport, Jack said: “If you’ve got an impairment of some sort then find the right sport that fits your impairment as well as your interests. I went through a number of different sports before I found canoeing.
“For me, canoeing ticks a lot of boxes because I’m outside in all the elements, it’s a power sport and I love training in the gym and then using that in the water. That’s what fits my interest so my advice would be to understand exactly what it is you want to get out of sport and if it fits your impairment.”
For more information on BCP leisure centres and to get started with a sport or activity, visit https://www.bcpleisure.co.uk.
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