Medal-winning Paralympians Harriet Lee, who now lives in Peterborough and Matt Skelhon from Stilton were special guests at a dedicated Paralympic Celebration Tour of the city on Wednesday November 7 organsied by Vivacity Culture & Leisure in partnership with Peterborough City Council.
Both confirmed they now have their sites firmly set on bettering their achievements at the next Paralympic Games and are gearing up for training hard once again.
Harriet Lee (21) who trains at the Regional Pool won a bronze medal in the Paralympic women?s 100m breaststroke, while Matt Skelhon (27) won silver and bronze in mixed rifle events. Jody Cundy from Wisbech who won bronze in the men?s cycling 4km individual pursuit finals was due to attend but couldn?t make it on the day.
Harriet told ESP ? ?Yes I?ve just decided to try for Rio, so another four years! I?ve got breaks inbetween with Worlds and Commonwealth comeptitions, so we?ll just take each year as it comes health wise and fitness wise and see where we go with that.
?This is the first weekend I?ll be out for a long time. You won?t be seeing me out much. It?s pool sleep and pool really!?
Matt also confimed he?s continuing with his sport - ?Yeah I?m aiming for Rio. I?ve had a bit of time off but I?ll start training again this weekend and then four years will soon fly by again and we?ll be qualified and hopefully I?ll be on a plane to Rio.?
The celebrations began at Bushfield Leisure Centre at Orton Centre where students from Ormiston Bushfield Academy took part in a question and answer session with the athletes. They then moved on to Jack Hunt Swimming Pool & Gym in Netherton where they met to staff and students from Jack Hunt School.
Councillor George Simons, Mayor of Peterborough, said: ?This is the perfect opportunity for the city of Peterborough as a whole to thank our local athletes for representing the UK in the Paralympics this summer ? a wonderful celebration of their hard work, sportsmanship and achievements.?
As part of the celebrations Olympic Torch bearers and Paralympic Flame carriers Tash Applegate and Iain Crighton also attended, giving students and the public the opportunity to take photographs of two of the iconic Olympic Torches and the Paralympic Flame.
Jon Marsden, Head of Sports and Recreation at Vivacity, said: ?For Peterborough the Olympic and Paralympic legacy really has inspired a generation.?
In the afternoon the athletes arrived at the Embankment Sports and Athletics Arena where an official presentation took place by the Mayor and representatives from Vivacity, Peterborough City Council, Living Sport, Sainsbury?s and DIAL.
Children from Heltwate, Phoenix, Marshfields Special Schools and students from Matley Primary School in Peterborough then tried out specially adapted handcycles and tandems provided by PACS (the Peterborough Adapted Cycling Scheme).
Matt believes it?s important we keep the legacy of Olympics and Paralympics going strong and that this year?s event has made a huge difference ? ?I think it?ll stick. A big thing?s been made of it for more than just the past few months, the past few years have been leading up to it. I think Channel 4 did a great job with the marketing and it?ll stick in people?s minds definitely.?
Harriett agrees ? ?Even if for the next couple of years we do a few school visits I think we?ve got to somehow keep what we did in the summer fresh in people?s minds and inspire them still now to keep going.?
Read more in the next issue of ESP Magazine.
Photos: Chris Brudenell for ESP Magazine
Source: http://www.espmag.co.uk/paralympians-tour-peterborough/
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