“Be the change you want to see!” Double Olympian, Marilyn Okoro OLY leads a Wilson Foundation supported programme at Sir Christopher Hatton Academy
“Be the change you want to see!”.
Double Olympian, Marilyn Okoro OLY leads a Wilson Foundation supported programme at Sir Christopher Hatton Academy
We had the pleasure of visiting Sir Christopher Hatton Academy with the very inspirational Marilyn Okoro OLY as part of our recent Wilson Foundation supported programme. The Wilson Foundation chose to support Sir Christopher Hatton Academy with this athletics programme to encourage the young people within Northamptonshire to be more active and raise their aspirations.
As a double Olympian and incredible role model on and off the athletics track, Marilyn was able to share her career journey in sport and the lessons that have helped her along with her career and now in her retirement.
Marilyn welcomed all of the Sir Christopher Hatton Academy students to each of her sessions with open arms and took them through her sporting career and the key things that sport had taught her along the way. After the introductions, Marilyn then put the students through their paces with a dynamic warm-up and tested them on their athletic fitness and sprinting techniques.
The practical sessions ended with a medal presentation to those that impressed Marilyn with their performance and attitude but Marilyn made it clear in her own journey that:
“My life isn’t measured in medals. ”
— MARILYN OKORO OLY
In each of the sessions throughout the day, Marilyn shared her journey from growing up in North West London to the crazy heights of the Olympic Games and the setbacks in between, before allowing time for questions, photos and the highly sought after autographs.
During the afternoon, Marilyn shared some insights into what it takes to eat, sleep and train like an Olympic athlete for the BTEC groups, so they could learn from a real-life role model and use this to enhance their own studies. Our day ended on a complete high, when the Year 10 girls, who often struggle with participation in sport and PE, had the opportunity to ask Marilyn for some advice on topics surrounding females in sport and dealing with challenging home and sporting environments. It was in this session that Marilyn was reunited with her Sir Christopher Hatton Academy mentees and caught up with them about their goals and what they are progressing towards in the coming months.
Thank you very much to the staff and students at Sir Christopher Hatton Academy for welcoming Team Mintridge to your school for our Bronze programme. We are very grateful to The Wilson Foundation for their support and we can’t wait to continue our work together as we harness the power of positive sporting role models to enhance life skills in young people.
If you would like to understand more about our mentoring programmes with our inspirational Ambassadors and how they can support the young people at your school or club, please contact Katie Smith.
The Mintridge Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing life skills in young people through sport. We provide a support network for young people by harnessing the power of positive sporting role models. The Mintridge Foundation assists young people of all ages, abilities and physical capabilities to develop confidence and resilience, and creates awareness of the importance of mental and physical wellbeing through sport.
Our team of Ambassadors - Olympians, Paralympians and other professional sports stars from over 20 sports, both team and individual - work with young people in schools, clubs and academies across the UK. Starting with visits including assemblies, coaching clinics and classroom sessions tailored to each organisation’s requirements, our ambassadors can then provide one- on- one remote mentoring in a safeguarded environment, delivered via technology such as Fitswarm and Playwaze to build a lasting legacy for individuals.
The Mintridge Foundation’s successes demonstrate the incredible power of sport; from a mentee’s selection to represent Great Britain in their chosen field to enabling disabled children to find confidence and happiness just through participation. Understanding life after sport, we also support our Ambassadors in their transition from active sport to the next stage of their careers.
The Mintridge Foundation
Unit 4, Shieling Court
Northfolds Road
Corby
Northants
NN18 9QD
Tel: +44 (0) 1536 447106
