Long jump champ visits school (From Brentwood Weekly News)

Long jump champ visits school

8:00am Saturday 9th February 2013 in Local news

GREAT Britain’s long jump champion visited secondary school pupils to help them focus on their future dreams.

JJ Jegede went to Shenfield High School and spoke to a group of 17 Year 7 pupils who had been selected by PE teacher Richard Abson-Bennett.

Mr Jegede spoke to the boys about the hard work and dedication he put into his training regime and school work to help him reach his targets in life.

The athlete, who has a personal best of 8.11m but missed out on a London 2012 spot, also spoke to a larger audience of schoolchildren for 40 minutes about how they can achieve their goals.

The 2012 UK champion’s visit was part of the Sky Sports Living for Sport project. Mr Abson-Bennett said the pupils loved talking and listening to the long jumper.

He added: “I would recommend this to any teacher and any school as it truly does inspire a generation.

“I hope this will stay with the boys and the year group throughout their time at Shenfield and lead them on to bigger and better things.

“It’s safe to say the Olympic legacy is at the forefront of minds here at Shenfield High School and we, as a PE department, are doing everything we can to inspire our young people and make them the best they can be, not only in sport but in life as well.”

Members of Team GB’s Olympic squad left Mr Jegede out of the London 2012 line-up despite him finishing fourth at the 2012 European Championships in Helsinki, as he had failed to achieve the 8.20m mark required.

The 27-year-old, who is part of the Newham and Essex Beagles Athletics Club, also runs a mentoring programme for youths and is a personal trainer.