Every four years, the Summer Olympics comes around and grips the nation. Like many others, I was hooked to Paris 2024. I was gripped to the drama of the Men’s Mountain Bike, where Tom Pidcock overtook the french rider after a dramatic puncture and took gold. I held my breath as Alex Yee, surely destined to take silver, didn’t settle and with only a few hundred metres to go, sprinted for gold in the Men’s Triathlon.
327 Team GB athletes went to the games, winning 65 medals – 14 Gold, 22 Silver and 29 Bronze. 131 athletes received medals over 18 different sports.
But the spirit of the Olympics is in every athlete who manages to make it there. I joined tennis fans across the country in shedding a few tears at Sir Andy Murray’s final game and may have wept at Max Whitlock’s final interview as a professional gymnast.
The successes and the stories of Team GB are to be celebrated, but, for me, it’s how we harness this momentum that’s most important.
I grew up in a sport-loving family, overlooking the old Stradey Park ground in Llanelli. I played rugby for Wales and still play some touch rugby occasionally, and have rediscovered my love of tennis. I’ve benefitted so much from sport. As well as the physical benefits, I’vemade friends for life and improved my mental wellbeing through sport. My passion for sport has remained with me as an MP and I try to use my platform to encourage more people to get involved in sport and physical activity.
That’s why I decided to hold a debate on the legacy of Team GB’s performance at Paris 2024 in Westminster Hall.
For me, the Olympic movement is about the next generation. How do we find the next Keeley Hodgkinson or Tom Daley? How do we find the next Kate Shortman and Izzy Thorpe, our first ever artistic swimming medallists, who trained for the games in their local community pool?
Legacy is a word that gets thrown around an awful lot, and we’re very familiar with its use around the Olympics. Legacy was a huge part of London 2012. A pledge to get 2 million people involved in sport and physical activity was at the heart of the bid.
But it is not enough to rely on major sporting events to drive up participation at grassroots level. Unfortunately, the sporting promises made from London 2012 were never fully realised.
According to UK active, 11.9 million in the UK still engage in less than 30 minutes of exercise per week. Sadly, opportunities for participation in sport and physical activity continue to depend on background, gender, bank balance, and postcode. These facts have repeated themselves time and again. There are wider issues impacting participation too. Rising energy costs have led to many leisure centres and swimming pools closing or changing their opening hours permanently.
Something must change.
I am pleased that UK Sport have taken initiative by launching the Changemakers Fund, along with Team GB, Paralympics GB and the National Lottery. The aim of this is to get athletes to support projects they are passionate about and make a difference. Athletes can apply for funding towards projects that resonate with them.
There are other positive examples to learn from.
The FA launched the Inspiring Positive Change strategy in 2020 to create a sustainable future for girls and women’s football in England.
When the Lionesses won the Euros in 2022, 41% of Secondary schools in England offered Football to girls in PE lessons. After the team campaigned tirelessly, the last government committed to equal access to all sports in schools and by the end of 2023 75% of schools had met this target – a year before the FA’s own target.
As I prefer a different shaped ball, I’m hoping that the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025 in England can bring together success and infrastructure to drive up interest from women and girls, like the Inspiring Positive Change strategy did.
If we are serious about getting more people moving, Parliament needs to play its part. Departments across Westminster need to work together to ensure more opportunities in schools and communities. We also need to work with devolved governments, local authorities and community leaders.
With a new Labour Government and a successful Olympic outing, I really hope that more people across whole country will get the opportunity to feel the joy that I get from sport.
