The first General Studies talk of the year at Oundle School was given by David Moorcroft OBE on the subject of the Olympic legacy.
Upper Sixth former Johnnie Bland (17) commented, “During the talk, Mr Moorcroft spoke about the importance of presenting a sustainable and enduring legacy for the London 2012 Olympics. We were shown the final video from Singapore that effectively swung the vote in our favour through its emphasis on legacy and how the London Olympics would encourage children of all creeds and colours to take up sport. He also went on to say that after these Olympics it will be crucial that government funding is kept consistent to facilitate British success in future Olympics.”
Mr Moorcroft’s achievements include setting the world record for the 5000m in the Bislett games in Oslo and winning the Commonwealth games three times. He emphasised the hard work and dedication that he had to do to get to a level where he felt capable of challenging the Kenyan hegemony in the 5000m.
Johnnie added, “What is all the more remarkable is that Mr Moorcroft is the last man of non African origin to break the 5000m record and it really brought home to me the level of this achievement. He also mentioned the importance of sticking to your morals and working hard to achieve your goals, giving the example of himself who as a teenager never competed in the nationals for athletics but through sheer determination and grit became a highly accomplished international athlete. Mr Moorcroft showed his humour when talking about the embarrassment after an invitation to compete in the Great North run resulted in him being overtaken by a man dressed in a banana costume. It was not quite what he had in mind when he accepted the invitation!”
Since retiring from athletics David Moorcroft has been the Chief Executive of the British Athletic Foundation and worked as a sports commentator for the BBC in numerous athletics championships. He also recently became Director for the charity venture Join In Local Sport, a UK national multi-sport event, to encourage local sports clubs in the UK to put on sporting activities after the Olympics, ensuring that the UK fulfils its promise of passing the torch of sporting enthusiasm and participation onto the next generation.
Picture shows David Moorcroft with Jess Varley (17) and Kristina Cowley (17).