In this three-minute read,
we look at where three GB Olympic stars started their sporting journey.

Eleven thousand elite athletes will converge in
Tokyo next week for the 32nd Summer Olympic Games.

Each of them will have put in tens of thousands of
hours in practice and shed blood, sweat, and tears to get there.

But as you marvel at the rippling abs and
razor-sharp mental strength of these sporting Titans, pause to consider where
their careers started.

Most will trace their success back to a local
sporting club that introduced them to the joys of competition and fostered
their prodigious talent.

In the UK, there are 151,000 sports clubs. The
majority get by on shoestring budgets and the goodwill of volunteers; many are
the lifeblood of communities.

In this area, we’re lucky to have Combat Sports
Academy and Snodland Town Football Clubon
our doorstep.

So, as we cheer on Team GB, let’s also pay credit to
the grassroots clubs nurturing the Olympians of tomorrow.

Here are three Olympic stars who got their start at
a local club.

Jade Jones

At the age of eight, Jade attended a Taekwondo
taster session at the Flint Pavilion Leisure Centre in her North Wales
hometown. She was quickly hooked on the sport and became a star performer at
Flint Taekwondo Club.

Jade has gone on to win national and European titles
and took gold in London and Rio. Look out for her at Tokyo, where she’s pushing
for her third title.

And if you ever visit Flint, you’ll notice that the
leisure centre has a new name: the Jade Jones Pavilion.

Shirley Robertson

Scottish sailor Shirley Robertson won gold in Sydney
and Athens. These victories made her the first woman to win consecutive gold
medals in different Olympic sailing events.

Shirley learned to sail in a homemade dinghy at the
Loch Ard Sailing Club, located in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. (Surely,
one of the most picturesque sailing venues in the UK.)

After several years away from competition, Shirley
recently hinted at a return. She’s eyeing up Paris 2024.

Sir Bradley Wiggins

Sir Bradley was 12 when he joined the Archer Road
Club – so named because its original members met above a cycle shop in Archer
Road, Westbourne Grove, London. Heavy traffic in West London later saw the club
move its road racing activities to Hillingdon Cycle Circuit.

During his career, Sir Bradley won five gold, one
silver and two bronze Olympic medals.

From all of us here at CWB Property,
stay safe and stay active.