Former Olympic athlete - speaks at UTS Foundation
Wow, what an honour it was to welcome former Olympic athlete and Beijing Taekwondo Bronze medalist, Sarah Jennings (was Stevenson) MBE to our facility yesterday.
Sarah came to speak with a group of young people we have been working with in partnership with Central Park Medical Centre at Victoria Central Hospital, Wallasey. This was their final exercise session and we wanted to give them a positive and rewarding send off after all their hard work and commitment.
Sarah took the time our of her busy schedule to share her journey from being a typical 7 year old girl who fought her way from a working class background in Doncaster, right through the ranks to become an elite Taekwondo athlete and the first female medalist for Team GB.
Despite her hard earned success as a female athlete, Sarah told us about overcoming the tragic loss of both her parents to cancer, 2 painful cruciate knee operations before eventually reading the Olympic oath on behalf of all the athletes at the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
The real message that Sarah wanted to emphasise to the captivated group of young people was that, in spite of any adversity, you can achieve what you want in life through hard work and dedication.
Sarah's amazing story continues and she is now a proud and very busy mum of two children. She really is a true inspiration for any young person regardless of what they want to achieve in life.