Discipline key to Olympic success

Talking to sports and exercise science students at the college earlier this month, respected 400m runner Andrew Steele revealed he hasn’t always been a brilliant runner. “I’ve got to the level I’m at now through a combination of good decision making and sheer hard work,” he said. “Believe it or not, I’ve not got that much natural talent.”

The 26 year old Gold medallist, who represented Britain at the Beijing Olympics, insisted to students that with determination almost any young person can get to world-class level. “People see Olympic runners with their rippling muscles and assume that they were born to athletics. That’s just not the case, most I know are at that level purely as a result of intense training and discipline,” he said.

As well as talking to students about his gruelling training regime, Mr Steele also described the importance of injury prevention and nutrition.
Student Jess Othen, 17, said: “The visit has been interesting and enjoyable. We’ve learned a lot about what sportsmen and women have to go through and how important the right training is.”