Team GB High-Jumper impressed with Surrey Sports Park

06 December 2011

Team GB High-Jumper Tom Parsons has branded Surrey Sports Park one of the most impressive training venues available to elite athletes, making comparisons to similar facilities in Melbourne, Australia.

Tom visited Surrey Sports Park recently and gave onlookers expert tips and anecdotes from his experience at the Beijing Olympics in 2010.

Tom’s visit was his first to Surrey Sports Park and he was left astounded by the facilities on offer: “Just coming up the drive I was looking around thinking “wow, this place is serious.” It reminded me of when I was in Melbourne, seeing the masses of expansive playing fields and astro turfs and tennis courts all in one place- its brilliant! It’s buzzing here already!

Tom made the high jump final at Beijing 2008, coming 8th, and found the experience unique: “It was my first Olympics so it was such an inspiring place to be and I was so relieved to get there. I loved every minute of it! I only qualified at the last minute so I was very happy to just be there. It was one of the best experiences of my life.”

London 2012 is very much within Tom’s sights and he is confident that he can improve on his last Olympic performance: “I think I do well on home soil and I love the support of feeling loved while jumping- British crowds are great.

I’ve been lucky enough to have a look around the Olympic Park and it feels like a great environment to jump in. I’ve made some changes this year with a new coach and I have a fresh motivation and a new start. I feel in great shape already.”

Surrey Sports Park will host a number of Olympic athletes next year, including those from nations such as Nigeria, Antigua and Barbuda and Singapore, in preparation for the London 2012 Games. Surrey will also stage sections of the 250km cycle road race starting on the first Saturday of the Games, with GB cyclists Mark Cavendish and Nicole Cooke highly tipped to take gold.