The welcome home celebrations held across the UK for Team GB’s & Team Ireland’s Tokyo Olympic Games heroes have also been championed by the UK’s largest independent athlete support programme - the GLL Sport Foundation.

The culmination of 13 years and £12m of investment given to supporting talented local athletes – saw a total of 17 medals won at the Japan showcase from a group of sixty three competing athletes who received support from the GLL Sport Foundation.

3,000 talented athletes are funded annually by the GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) programme of which an incredible 97% receive no other funding or support. The support has provided a lifeline to the athletes and an inspiration to other young people in local communities. 

The GSF is the brain-child of GLL, the largest UK-based charitable social enterprise delivering sport, leisure, culture, health and community facilities.

In partnership with SportsAid, the Foundation works directly with the established national ‘talent pathways’ of Sport National Governing Bodies, local authorities and local sports charities who partner the scheme across the UK.

GLL operates 260 sport and leisure facilities across the UK in partnership with 42 local authorities in Belfast, Cardiff and London – and spanning England from Carlisle to Cornwall - under the Better brand.  Each one offers personal fitness and wellbeing – with gym, swim, classes, courts and pitches to enjoy, indoors and out – or family fun during summer staycations at lidos, trampoline parks and Watersport centres.

They also provide a training ground for talented athletes heading to national and international competition.

Because GLL is a charitable leisure social enterprise, it seeks to reinvest part of its operating surpluses into grassroots sports development, concessions and uniquely impactful programmes, including the GLL Sport Foundation (GSF).

The athlete awards cover Olympic, Paralympic, Deaflympic, Special Olympic and Commonwealth sporting disciplines.

With and the majority of award recipients receiving no other sport funding and 63% of recipients being aged under 21, the GLL Sport Foundation addresses a vital funding gap for young talented athletes currently competing and National and International levels.

Chosen athletes receive financial bursaries and free training memberships to use leisure centre facilities across 260 plus GLL and partner-operated sporting venues. 

GLL Deputy CEO and Chair of the GLL Sport Foundation Peter Bundey said: “Congratulations to all athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics and especially to our Foundation competitors and medal winners.

“We are proud to support so many talented athletes. They are an inspiration and exemplify the best in our centres and the true community spirit of our social enterprise.”

“Our customers can be proud of the difference they are making because their visit helps sponsor a young athlete on their sporting journey which has been nurtured – or in many cases has started - in one of our pools, courts, tracks or gyms.

“It’s never been a better time for young people to get involved in sport for their fitness and wellbeing and GLL is working with our sports partners and local authorities to make this a reality with a wide offer of accessible sports and leisure in convenient locations across the country.”

Amongst the GLL Sport Foundation athletes that have enjoyed incredible success are; Divers Tom Daley and Matty Lee; BMX Freestylist Charlotte Worthington and Swimmer Tom Dean

GSF Award Holder Tom Dean, successful 2 time Gold Olympic medallist in the swimming pool said:  “I am proud to be supported by a Foundation that has helped so many talented athletes along their journey.”

GSF Award Holder Charlotte Worthington who amazed the nation with BMX Freestyle Gold said: “I want to inspire people to get into BMX freestyle or sport in general, especially girls. 

GSF Patron and former Olympic Champion Sally Gunnell OBE said: “It’s a fantastic achievement for the GLL Sport Foundation to have provided 63 Olympic athletes with support through their journey to Tokyo.

“It is a testament to the hard work athletes put in daily and highlights the impact that the support of programmes such as this can have.

“All eyes now turn to the Tokyo Paralympics, starting 24 August, where the GLL Sport Foundation will have nearly 40 supported athletes competing”.

Paralympian Vanessa Wallace, Shot Put Seated Throw said: “I have now secured my place in Tokyo and have my sights set on a podium finish at the Paralympic Games.

“The GLL Sport Foundation has contributed significantly towards me being able to continue my journey to qualify for the Paralympics GB team for Tokyo 2020.”

 

Full list of GLL Sport Foundation Olympians and medallists:

 

Tom Dean, 200m freestyle swimming & 4 x 200m freestyle relay – Gold x2

Calum Jarvis, 4 x 200m freestyle swimming relay – Gold

Alex Yee, Triathlon & mixed relay triathlon – Silver and Gold

Tom Daley, 10m synchronise diving & 10m individual diving – Gold and Bronze

Matty Lee, 10m synchronise diving - Gold

Anna Hopkin, Mixed medley swimming relay – Gold

Charlotte Worthington, BMX Freestyle – Gold

Joe Choong, Modern Pentathlon – Gold

Harry Leask men's quadruple sculls rowing – Silver

Luke Greenbank, Backstroke &4 x 100m medley relay – Bronze & Silver

Aidan Walsh, Boxing welterweight - Bronze

Oliver Wynne-Griffith, rowing eight – Bronze

Amelie Morgan, Gymnastic team all-around – Bronze

Sarah Jones, Leah Wilkinson and Izzy Petter – Bronze

Asha Philip and Daryll Neita, 4 x 100m relay - Bronze

 

Currently supported GSF athletes have managed to beat the previous Olympic medal haul in Rio of 7 with 11 in Tokyo.

That total rises to 17 when all athletes who have received GSF support over their career are included.

 

Tokyo Olympics Medal Table

If GLL Sport Foundation were a country, it would sit 14^th.

 

Pos.	Country	G	S	B	Total
1	United States	39	41	33	113
2	China	38	32	18	88
3	Japan	27	14	17	58
4	Great Britain	22	21	22	65
5	ROC	20	28	23	71
…14	GLL Sport Foundation	7	4	6	17

 

Medals counted per event not per athlete – i.e. 2 athletes in relay team counted as 1 medal.

 

Athlete list

Athlete	Partnership	Sport	Team
Aiden Walsh	Belfast	Boxing	Team Ireland
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix	Crystal Palace	Diving	Team GB
Asha Philip	Waltham Forest	4 x 100m	Team GB
Ashleigh Nelson	Waltham Forest	4 x 100m	Team GB
Ben Fletcher	Belfast	Judo	Team Ireland
Calum Jarvis	Bath	Swimming	Team GB
Cameron Chalmers	Bath	4x400m	Team GB
Caroline Dubois	Greenwich	Boxing	Team GB
Charlotte Worthington	Manchester	BMX Freestyle	Team GB
Charlotte Wubben-Moy	Tower Hamlets	Football	Team GB
Daryll Neita	Greenwich	4 x 100m	Team GB
Eden Cheng	Crystal Palace	Diving	Team GB
Emily Craig	South Ox	Rowing	Team GB
Grace Reid	QEOP	Diving	Team GB
Graeme Thomas	South Ox	Rowing	Team GB
Harriet Jones	Cardiff	Swimming	Team GB
Harry Leask	South Ox	Rowing	Team GB
Jack Mcmillan	Belfast	Swimmer	Team Ireland
Jake Heyward	Cardiff	1500m	Team GB
James Cooke	Bath	Modern Penthalon	Team GB
Jessie Knight	Epsom	400m Hurdles	Team GB
Joanna Muir	Bath	Modern Penthalon	Team GB
Josesph Choong	Bath	Modern Penthalon	Team GB
Kirsty Hegarty	Belfast	Shooting	Team GB
Lauren Williams	Bath	400m Hurdles	Team GB
Leah Wilkinson	Epsom	Hockey	Team GB
MARCUS MEPSTEAD	Barnet	Fencing	Team GB
Matty Lee	QEOP	Diving	Team GB
Megan Fletcher	Belfast	Judo	Team Ireland
Michaela Walsh	Belfast	Boxing	Team Ireland
Niclas Baker	Crystal Palace	4x400m	Team GB
Noah Williams	QEOP	Diving	Team GB
Oliver Dustin	Allerdale	800m, 1500m	Team GB
Paul Pollock	Belfast	Marathon	Team Ireland
Sarah Jones	Epsom	Hockey	Team GB
Scarlett Mew Jensen	QEOP	Diving	Team GB
Scott Lincoln	York	Shot Put	Team GB
Shirely Mckay	Belfast	Hockey	Team Ireland
Thomas Dean	South Bucks	Swimming	Team GB
Tom Daley	QEOP	Diving	Team GB
Zoe Smith	Greenwich	Weightlifting	Team GB
Dina Asher-smith	Greenwich	200m	Team GB
Reece Prescod	Waltham Forest	200m	Team GB
Luke Greenbank	Allerdale	Swimmer	Team GB
Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne	South OX	Rower	Team GB
Charlotte Hodgkins Byrne	South OX	Rower	Team GB
Anna Hopkin	Bath	Swimmer	Team GB
Patrick Huston	Belfast	Archery	Team GB
Fran Kirby	Reading	Football	Team GB
Amelie Morgan	Reading	Gymnstics	Team GB
Izzy Petter	Epsom	Hockey	Team GB
Joe Salisbury	Merton	Tennis	Team GB
Katherine Torrance	QEOP	Diving	Team GB
Aimee Willmott	QEOP	Swimmer	Team GB
Kimberley woods	Rugby	Canoe Slalom	Team GB
Oliver Wynne-Griffith	South OX	Rower	Team GB
Jona Efoloko	Manchester	4x100m	Team GB
Alex Wright	Belfast	Race Walking	Team Ireland
Brendan Irvine	Belfast	Boxing	Team Ireland
Tin Tin Ho	Tower Hamlets	Table Tennis	Team GB
Alex Yee	Crystal Palace	Triathlon	Team GB
Alexandra Bell		800m	Team GB
Imani-Lara Lansiquot	Sutton	4 x 100m	Team GB
Lawrence Okoye	Croydon	Discuss	Team GB

 

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