Olympics vs Paralympics. 02 December 2011

David Weir is a double Paralympic champion in wheelchair athletics and is expected to win more gold in 2012.  17 year old Zoe Smith became the first English woman to win a Commonwealth Games weightlifting medal in Delhi last year and is Team GB’s greatest hope in the sport next year.

As patrons of the 2012 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games the duo have been brought together for a unique Olympics vs Paralympics challenge across the London 2012 sports of archery, boccia, basketball and table tennis all under the watchful eye of TV’s former Gladiators referee John Anderson.

The first of the four challenges can now be viewed at:

http://www.londonyouthgames.org and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLN9VbCIJuQ

The remaining three challenges will be released at:

http://www.londonyouthgames.org and http://www.youtube.com/londonyouthgames every Friday in the lead in to Christmas.

Smith, who has broken over 300 British records, began weightlifting because of the London Youth Games where she represented her home borough of Greenwich. Five-times London Marathon winner Weir was inspired to take up athletics by his childhood experiences at the London Youth Games, where he represented Sutton. 

David Weir said: “It’s a big honour to be a patron of the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games. It is such an important event for youth sport in London. The London Youth Games was where I first got the taste for competing and winning. It has played a significant role in launching my career towards the Paralympic Games.

“You can never underestimate the buzz an event like the London Youth Games can create amongst young people. It is helping to drive up participation in competitive sport and for some, it ignites a spark that can inspire them right to the top level.”

Zoe Smith said: “The Balfour Beatty London Youth Games has played such a massive role in my sporting career, so it is very special to be a patron for this year’s Games. It is through the London Youth Games that I first discovered my talent for weightlifting.

“Without that early opportunity to compete, I seriously doubt whether I would have been in with a chance of competing at London 2012. It’s an amazing season of events and it’s a brilliant feeling to be able to represent your borough. I think every young Londoner should give it a go. It’s fun, it’s competitive and you never know what you might find out about yourself!”

The London Youth Games is Europe’s largest annual youth sports event. A record 71,000 participants aged 7-18 took part in 2011, representing 33 London borough teams across 30 sports.

Now part of the Government’s nationwide School Games programme and supported by Sport England National Lottery funding, the London Youth Games has expanded to feature more schools events within its programme to take the number of competitions to 80 across 25 days of events.

The season climaxes at finals weekend at the National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace on 28 June-1 July which features 23 sports across the complex in three pulsating days of youth sport.  The season also includes the Thames Water Regatta in May and five disability sport competitions.

The next competition is the Indoor Cricket qualifiers in February, with the finals dues to take place at Lord’s Indoor School on 11 March.