PUPILS from two dale schools raised more than £800 to help British athletes train.
British Olympic high jump hopeful David Smith, 29, who came second in the European championships last year, took time out of his busy schedule to help pupils at Butterknowle and Woodland primary schools complete sponsored circuit training sessions on Tuesday, March 10.
Mr Smith, who is hoping to represent Great Britain at this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, is preparing for the World Championships in June. He told children since becoming a professional athlete two years ago he trains five days a week – three hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.
His visit to the schools was organised by Sports for Champions UK, which raises funds to allow athletes like Mr Smith to train on a full-time basis and encourage schools to take part in sponsored sports-themed events.
After a PowerPoint presentation and a short video, Mr Smith answered questions from the children about his career and told them his personal best jump was two metres and 26cm. Then the children donned their sports kits and completed four activities including star jumps, press ups, leg drives and spotty dogs.
Children had been raising sponsorship money for the event and were presented with stickers for taking part. Pupils who managed to raise more than £35 in sponsorship were also given certificates and had their photographs taken with Mr Smith.
Children from Butterknowle School raised £303 in sponsorship and children from Woodland brought in £565.37.
