On your marks... Olympics hero Cram cheers on pupils

The former Olympian was at the David Young Community Academy, in Bishops Way, Seacroft, Leeds, to oversee an indoor athletics competition.

He gave youngsters an insight into the drive and dedication needed to become an athletics champion.

Cram, who was at the event as an ambassador for the Yorkshire Bank, said: “It’s about trying to put something to them that if they wanted to it’s something they could pursue.

“We’ve got to do that in a way that they can obviously relate to and so that they can try and understand that when they see sports people at the Olympic Games next year they all started somewhere.”

The athlete, who won a silver medal in the 1500m at the 1984 Olympic Games, coached around 50 pupils aged 12 to 13 before signing autographs and giving a speech to sixth form students.

Cram added: “When I asked all those kids in there whether they’d been to an athletics club they said no, but then watching them I can tell that there is athletic talent, whether it be for rugby, football or something else.

“I hope we can tap into particularly young people and show them that sport is not only fun, as it is in there - loud and noisy – but if they want to there are lots of career paths.”