Welsh athletes thank lottery players for huge support. 19 October 2011

Nathan Stephens joined other leading Welsh athletes to pay tribute to Lottery players for their investment in sport, as a UK-wide tour arrived in Wrexham yesterday.

The National Lottery’s hot air balloon visited Bellevue Park with IPC World Javelin Champion Nathan Stephens, National Paralympic Dressage Champion, Natalie Povey from Wrexham and Bala’s Rhys Davies, Canoeing Bronze World Medallist.

The hot air balloon tour aims to thank Lottery players for their investment of up to £2.2 billion into the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, funding venues and infrastructure, athlete preparation, grassroots sport and the Cultural Olympiad.

IPC World Champion and new world record holder Nathan Stephens said: “National Lottery players should be really proud that they are supporting us to the hilt.  Most of them probably don’t realise how important they are to the development of Welsh sport.  Their investment allows me to train full-time and gives me the professional support to go for gold next year, I can’t wait to compete at a home Paralympic Games.  The hot air balloon is a great way of celebrating how Lottery funding is helping us make our mark on the world stage.”

Wales will be actively involved in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the first events of the Olympic Games being football matches at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Around 1,000 elite athletes and support staff will train in Wales in the lead up to the Games, with a significant investment into the local economy. South Wales will host the Australian, New Zealand and other Oceania Paralympic teams, also the South African Paralympic team, the Irish Triathlon team and the Trinidad and Tobago team, with others yet to be announced.  The Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) has also chosen to host its ‘Road to London’ preparation training camp in Cardiff.

Wales will welcome the Torch Relay on Friday 25 May 2012, with four overnight stops in Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth and Bangor. The Cultural Olympiad will be an integral part of the 2012 Games and Wrexham Council is leading the Following the Flame project, a touring exhibition celebrating Wales’ sporting heritage and future hopes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Many Lottery-funded events are happening across North Wales, including a pageant in Flint Castle and events in Denbigh, Caernarfon and Harlech Castles. These are part of the ambitious Cauldrons and Furnaces project.

For further information, please visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.