Lee MathurinA student at Waltham Forest College who has high hopes of taking part in the Olympic Games got a close up view of the arena where he aims to be competing in two years time.
Lee Mathurin was among a group of 26 students from the college who were taken on a tour of the Olympic site in Stratford to witness the progress being made in building the Games venues.
Lee, 20, is studying business at the college, but at evenings and weekends he is training hard to pursue his dream as an athlete.
He is a promising discus thrower, with his national ranking reaching as high as second in the country at junior level.
Lee took up the sport while a student at Woodbridge High School in Woodford Green. “In a games lesson I picked up a discus one day and the PE teacher was impressed with how far I threw it,” he said.
“He told me I should take it up competitively and encouraged me to join the Woodford Green with Essex Ladies athletics club.
“I have represented England at junior level and have been ranked in the top ten in the country every year since I started competing.
“I have also appeared on a prediction list of athletes who will compete at the Olympics in 2012, so I do believe I have a chance. To appear in an Olympic Games on my home turf would be the biggest achievement of my life.”
This will be his first year competing at senior level and he hopes to improve on his personal best throw of 48 metres in competition, though he said he has thrown 52 metres in training.
“The qualifying distance for 2012 is likely to be around 65 metres, but I believe I can achieve that if I train hard,” he added.
If he does achieve his goal he will have Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in under four minutes, to thank. Lee, from Navestock Crescent, Woodford Green, explained: “He was a coach at the club and he helped me out a lot.
“My mum had just been made redundant and he helped me out with funding so I was able to buy shoes and other equipment. Without his support I don’t reckon I would have got as far as I have.”
Meanwhile he is working hard to pass his Advanced National Diploma (equivalent to three A-levels) in business to enable him to achieve his other dream of going to university to study to be an architect.
Lee joined a group of mostly travel and tourism students and teachers who were taken on a guided tour of the Olympic site which is expected to attract up to 800,000 visitors each day of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
They were shown the progress being made on the construction of the main arenas and the Olympic village which will house 15,000 athletes from 205 nations.
Students going on the Olympic site tour
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