FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The legacy of London 2012
Reflecting on a decade of developments since the London 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games
In what feels like the blink of an eye, we're already celebrating the
10-year anniversary of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic
Games. This spectacular occasion on Friday 27 July parodied Chariots of
Fire, paraded world-leading athletes and paved the way for inspirational
sporting events such as the Olympic marathon and race walk, which London
Marathon Events (LME) was proud to organise.
But that's not all. In the decade since the Games, LME and its parent
charity The London Marathon Charitable Trust (The Trust) have worked hard
to build on the London 2012 legacy and Inspire Activity among people of all
ages, abilities and backgrounds. From funding programmes to popular mass
participations events, the two organisations' Olympic legacy projects
continue to change lives and champion physical activity.
Launching legacy events
Finishing on The Mall and featuring some of the world's most talented
marathoners, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic marathons bore strong
parallels with the London Marathon that LME brings to the capital each
year.
And even a decade later, the 2022 TCS London Marathon will carry the
electricity of the London 2012 Games, with double gold medallist and Super
Saturday extraordinaire Sir Mo Farah – who is also a past winner of the
Mini London Marathon – taking on the iconic 26.2-mile event for the second
time. Wheelchair wonders David Weir and Marcel Hug – gold and silver
medallists respectively in the London 2012 Paralympic marathon – are also
set to return to the capital for this year's TCS London Marathon.
Beyond the marathon, LME also launched three new Olympic legacy events off
the back of the London 2012 Games: RideLondon, Swim Serpentine and the
Vitality Westminster Mile.
RideLondon
The most successful 2012 Olympic legacy event, RideLondon was developed by
the Mayor of London and his agencies and first held in August 2013. Now, it
is the world's greatest festival of cycling.
Since its first edition, more than 500,000 riders have taken part in the
event, collectively raising in excess of £80 million for more than 1,000
charities over the same period. This year's RideLondon, held from Friday 27
May to Sunday 29 May, included 100-mile, 60-mile and 30-mile rides across
parts of central London and rural Essex, as well as the RideLondon
FreeCycle and three-day UCI Women's WorldTour pro race, the RideLondon
Classique.
Swim Serpentine
Launched in 2016, Swim Serpentine is an open water swimming event staged in
the beautiful Serpentine lake in Hyde Park, the venue for both the marathon
swimming and triathlon events at the London 2012 Games. Swim Serpentine
features half-mile, one-mile, two-mile and even six-mile swim distances,
and places are still available in this year's event on Saturday 17
September – to enter, click here.
Vitality Westminster Mile
Established in 2013 thanks to a partnership between LME and Westminster
City Council, the Vitality Westminster Mile is now known as the UK's
premier mile road running event. Suitable for people of all ages and
abilities – from walkers to wheelchair users and children to PB-chasers –
the mile-long course loops around St James's Park before finishing in front
of Buckingham Palace. This year's event was held on Sunday 1 May, the day
before the Vitality London 10,000.
Funding physical activity
Olympic legacy funding
Since the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, The Trust has awarded more
than £7 million as part of a special fund to support Olympic legacy
projects, inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to get active.
Major legacy projects include the £3.4 million London Marathon Community
Track, a new athletics facility built upon the original London 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games warm-up track in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Since 2018, more than 250,000 people have used the track for community
sports, school activities and charity events, and more than 25 Olympians
have trained and developed their talents here.
Another Olympic legacy project set within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
and awarded The Trust funding is the £2 million Lee Valley VeloPark.
Offering a range of activities including circuit cycling, BMX and adapted
cycling for people with disabilities, this facility continues to encourage
thousands of people to get on their bikes.
Elite athlete funding
Having provided funding for British endurance running since 2001, LME later
set up an elite athlete funding programme in 2019 to directly support 30
athletes who – although not on British Athletics' World Class and Futures
Academy programmes – had the potential to shine at major competitions. Ten
of these first funded athletes went on to represent Team GB at the 2020
Tokyo Olympic Games.
LME's elite athlete funding programme is just part of a pathway that helps
support British runners from the playground to the podium. One notable
funding recipient is Keely Hodgkinson, silver medallist in the 800m at both
the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and – most recently – the 2022 World Athletics
Championships in Oregon.
While the ceremonial flames have long been extinguished, the light of the
London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is still very much alive, with
legacy events and funding offering a beacon of hope for the future of
British sport.
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