Peacock meets Olympic legend

1:46pm Monday 12th May 2008

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Barnet shot putter Tom Peacock, 15, received a masterclass in hard work from Daley Thompson, Britain's greatest all-round Olympic athlete.

Thompson, winner of two Olympic decathlon gold medals in 1980 and 1984, was offering advice and expert coaching to ten of the region's best young athletes (aged 13 to 15) from around England in the latest Sainsbury's Futures seminar.

As part of the day, the former Olympic hero put his young charges through a gruelling strength and conditioning session, designed to illustrate just how hard any track and field hopeful needs to work to make it to the top.

Thompson said: "It gave me a chance to encourage and offer advice to some of our most talented young athletes in England. I am keen for them to understand that talent alone will only get you so far in athletics. If you want to be the best, you will need to work extremely hard and never give up in chasing your goal.

"There is no doubt that Tom has the talent to do that, but what I'm trying to do is give them an insight into what they need to do to take it to the next level."

The event took place at the state-of-the-art Lee Valley Athletics Centre, and also gave the group of junior medallists from last year's ESAA Championships the opportunity to learn about the psychology of sport, lifestyle and nutrition.

Dr Caroline Douglas, sports psychologist at the Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Leeds, provided the young athletes with tips on linking up their physical training with mental conditioning.

Also on hand at the seminar was local athlete Andy Turner, the Sale Harriers hurdler.

He said: "I'm very privileged and humbled to be able to share the knowledge and experiences I have had over the years with these young talented athletes."

For Tom, who competes for Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, the chance to be coached and advised by Daley Thompson was an incredible experience.

He said: "It was great to meet someone who has been at the top. He has been there and done it, and I want to do the same."