Amelia's Day with Daley

Amelia, her coach John and Anne visited Lee Valley Indoor Arena today for a seminar led by Daley Thompson for "some of the best school-age athletes in the country." The athletes were all medal winners from the English Schools' Athletic Association Championship last summer, and the event was sponsored (as was the championship) by Sainsbury's.

The day started with a group photo and some warming up, followed by a really tough 'Strength and Conditioning' session led by Daley. The athletes were worked really hard but were still smiling at the end!

Then, after a light lunch, the seminar continued with a word from two of the recent stars of the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham: Phillips Idowu who jumped 17.56m in the triple jump to take Gold, and Jeanette Kwakye who went to 2nd on the all-time National rankings for 60m at the same meeting.

After a session on nutrition and then one on sports psychology and how to prepare for a competition (controlling nerves, etc), the athletes had a Q&A session from Daley.

The event finished with an individual photo of each athlete with Daley Thompson which will be printed and signed before being sent out.

Although tired, Amelia got a lot out of the day and made some new friends in the athletics world.