Olympic stars on Tuesday vowed to “inspire the next generation” of athletes as they visited a London youth club a day after returning home from Paris.
Lola Anderson, who won GB's first-ever gold in the Women’s quadruple sculls, said the response from the public had been “overwhelming in the best way” since arriving back in London.
She was joined on the visit to North Paddington Youth Club by boxer Lewis Richardson, who won bronze in the 71kg category, double medal-winning diver Noah Williams and Britain’s most successful men’s gymnast Max Whitlock OBE, who bid farewell to the sport after clinching three gold medals in previous tournaments.
The athletes signed autographs, posed for pictures and played basketball with young children from the local area.
Ms Anderson, 26, from Richmond, said she hoped the Games would inspire young Londoners to take up a new sport.
“It is important to remember that we all started somewhere. I wasn’t immediately successful when I started rowing, but I was supported by my club and local community," she said.
"Sport has been such a useful guiding tool for me in life, and I hope that the children visiting here today can discover the first part of their dream of being an athlete.”
She added: “I want as many people to take up rowing as possible. So my message to young people is: please come and join us, we want to row with you!”
More than 100 Olympic and Paralympic athletes will visit their local communities this week as part of the "ChangeMakers" initiative set up in partnership with Allwyn, the new operator of the National Lottery, which since 1997 has funded elite performance agency UK Sport.
Team GB athletes travelled home by Eurostar yesterday after clinching 65 medals in Paris, including 14 golds. It is the joint-third-highest tally for Team GB at a single Games.
Mr Richardson, 27, told the Standard he had been inspired to box after watching the London 2012 Olympics.
“My first boxing club was a 15-minute walk from my estate in Colchester. One day I decided to walk there with 12 friends, who all later dropped out, but I stuck at it. Now here I am with an Olympic medal," he said. "I hope the Paris Games can help inspire a generation.”
He added: “Communities are where the real heroes are. They need support through initiatives like this to help change people’s lives. Boxing makes me a better athlete but, more importantly, it makes me a better person.”
ChangeMakers is the first campaign from Allwyn’s annual £1 million Social Value Fund, which will support National Lottery-funded projects.
Later this week, Team GB’s Cycling team will help to run mental health workshops at a Manchester Bike Kitchen and Olympic swimmer Duncan Scott will help teach children to swim.
Andria Vidler, CEO of Allwyn, said: “After an incredible Olympic Games for Team GB we are all excited to help make a difference into for the future, supporting Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes by enabling them to give back and power the impact of National Lottery funding in their communities.”
