Former Olympic swimming champion Duncan Goodhew MBE visited Coopers Coborn School to talk about his career

Olympic champion visits school

Pupils at Coopers Coborn School had a special visit from Olympic champion Duncan Goodhew MBE last week.

Goodhew won 100m breaststroke gold at the 1980 Games in Moscow and gave an inspirational talk to students on the Coopers Athletics Talent Scheme programme.

Head of Student Enrichment Mark Duncan said: “He was extremely engaging with the students and spoke about how he overcame confidence and psychology issues to become the best in the world at the Olympic Games in Moscow.

“He explained the importance of visualisation and focused practice in order to become the best you can be.

“The students were fascinated by his stories and asked many questions to help them progress in their own sporting fields.

“They were also impressed at being able to hold his gold medal and the Olympic torch he used at the Opening Ceremony in this year’s London 2012 Games.”

Following his talk, Goodhew also led a master class for many of the school’s top swimmers and Duncan added: “This proved to be extremely beneficial as he shared some of the secrets and specialised drills that made him a champion.

“One even included a synchronised swimming move! All the students were extremely grateful for his words of wisdom and they will no doubt be of benefit as a team of 37 students head to Malta for a swimming tour.”

Coopers pupils had plenty to celebrate at the first round of the Cross Country Cup at Basildon’s Gloucester Park last Friday.

The junior girls squad of Rebecca Brown, Anna Manning, Emily Marshall, Katie Mitchell, Sophie Rand and Annalie Turner came home first in their race and the intermediate girls squad of Amy Baggs, Hannah Binning, Isobel Ives, Natasha Patient, Jessica Ward and Lois Wyatt also won gold.

Meanwhile, the intermediate boys squad of Liam Batty, Jake Brocklebank, Finlay Hyde, Zack Killoran, Elliott Nunn and Jonathon Toolis battled through a hard field to finish third.

Flynn Astbury, Ted Buchanan, Anthony Enye, Thomas Keevil, Oliver Morter and Ben Walledge brought the junior boys squad home in second place as all Coopers teams qualified for the regional finals in November.

The top three finishers there will qualify for the National Finals and Duncan said: “They are all more motivated than ever and will be training hard to reach their potential this season.”