GB Athlete Visits St Ives
Liza Askew
/ Categories: In the press
Frederick is an International Sprinter and is a two-time national gold medalist. He was London Schools Champion in 2011, World Youth Relay Champion in 2013, Surrey County Champion 2015 and National Champion 2018 at the 400 metres. He is also hoping to represent GB at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Working with children from Reception to Year 6, Frederick started the morning telling the children about his route to success, sharing that he was not the strongest athlete at school – he even fell over in his first race - but that hard work and continued determination over many years is what has led him to where he is now. He was inspired by his first coach who instilled in him to “keep moving forwards” which has now become his motto. He asked the children to keep repeating this throughout the session. He then went on to lead the children in a circuit training session, putting them through their paces and introducing them to new exercises and challenges. The session ended with a questions and answers sessions where the children learned about Frederick’s plans to represent team GB at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and the grueling training programme that will lead him there. Frederick was so inspirational and entertaining and the children were enraptured for the entire morning.
Kay Goldsworthy, Head Teacher at St Ives, said “The children have had such an incredible morning with Frederick Afrifa and have been so motivated and inspired by what he has shown and taught them. We will keep his motto of “Keep moving forwards” in our minds to inspire us to always do our best and to never give up. The Sports for Schools programme is such a worthwhile cause and we are delighted to support it”
St Ives families have been asked to raise sponsorship for Sports for Schools, which is then divided between helping support GB and Irish Olympic, Paralympic and Invictus athletes financially and purchasing new equipment for the school Last year St Ives raised over £2,000 and are hoping to beat this target this year.