GB Rowing Team on Duty to Promote National Lottery
GB Rowing Team members Andrew Triggs Hodge, Peter Reed, Tom James, Zac Purchase, Mark Hunter and their erstwhile colleague Steve Williams were on duty before the weekend in support of The National Lottery.
Their presence helped promote a scheme to recognise the achievements of Britain’s Olympians and Paralympians since 1948 and the six Beijing gold medallists had their hands and feet cast to mark the occasion.
A series of commemorative works has been commissioned by The National Lottery to honour British Olympic and Paralympic Games competitors from every corner of the UK, with the aim of exhibiting them in the build up to and during London 2012.
The gathering of those who won precious metal in China in 2009 took place at Eton-Dorney, the venue for the London 2012 Rowing competition.
Steve Williams said that having his hands and feet cast in gold is a great compliment: “It was an honour to be asked to do this and to be captured this way for all of posterity. To be part of this group of gold medallists having their casts taken is a real privilege and a huge honour.”
Teammate Andrew Triggs Hodge added: “It’s a really cool thing to have our hands and feet cast today. I’ve had the honour to experience a number of very special things since the Olympic Games in Beijing, but this is definitely one of the most special. It’s great that The National Lottery can show where their money really goes and I’m very proud to be able to be a part of it for years to come—one day I can point to it and tell my kid, ‘That was my hand.’”
Approximately 80 British Olympic and Paralympic gold medal winners since the last London Olympic Games in 1948 will be invited to participate in the campaign, representing 60 years of British sporting success.
More than £4 billion has already been invested in sport from money raised by National Lottery players across the UK since 1994. Since lottery funding began, 437 Olympic and Paralympic medals have been won by British athletes.
The National Lottery is contributing almost £2.2 billion to the cost of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, of which £750 million will come from sales of specially-designated lottery games. The total raised for London 2012 towards this £750 million target is currently more than £450 million.
