Gold medallist Edwards jumps at the chance of inspiring a new generation

About 1,400 schoolchildren competed in the Arches Games at Sheffield's English Institute of Sport, and Edwards joined in to coach them in the triple jump.

The Olympic champion said: "It makes a massive difference for kids to come to an event like this. It can have a profound effect on young people who may decide they want to carry on and pursue a sport.

"There was nothing like this at all when I was growing up, but that was in a different time when there weren't all the computer games, hundreds of television channels and things like that. For me, it was about going out and playing sport."

Don Stewart, director of Yorkshire Gold – the London 2012 arm of tourism body Welcome to Yorkshire – said: "The ambitions of these young people show how they have embraced the modern Olympic movement."

Meanwhile, the Olympic Delivery Authority announced yesterday that although costs for the Olympic build and infrastructure have risen by 5m, the overall project is still on time and on budget.