Emma enjoys her ‘future stars’ day with Olympic legend Dame Kelly Holmes

Lerwick athlete Emma Leask has taken part in the “Future Stars with Kelly” education day at Loughborough College, staged with double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes.

Emma, 18, attended the event with her mother Janice and coach Martin Leyland. She was invited as a result of her outstanding performance at the Aviva Scottish Schools Championships this year.

Sixty-five athletes, 45 coaches and 70 parents from all over the UK took part in the education day which aimed to educate them about making a successful transition from junior to senior athletics through a variety of workshops.

The athletes were put through their paces by Dame Kelly herself in tough fartlek [Swedish speed training] and circuit training sessions and took part in workshops on topics such as anti-doping and injury prevention. There were specific workshops for coaches and parents to assist them in the support of their athletes.

Dame Kelly said: “The education day was a great success. We had a brilliant turnout of athletes, coaches and parents and I hope they’ve all learnt something from the day. Emma really got stuck in and applied herself well in all the workshops.

“I hope the day has taught the ‘future stars’ how to overcome challenging situation that they may fact both in and away from athletics during their teenage transition from junior to senior athletics.”

The Aviva-sponsored “On Camp with Kelly” athletes, who have already been successful in making this vital transition, were on hand to lead the “future stars” and answer any questions they had.

Later in the day all participants were welcomed to a question and answer session with World Championships 1,500m silver medallist Hannah England and 800m semi-finalist Emma Jackson, both “On Camp with Kelly” athletes.

Emma said: “It’s great to have the opportunity to learn so many different things that will help my athletics all in one day. It feels so good to be recognised for my achievements especially by an athlete as inspiring as Kelly Holmes. It’s really interesting to hear what she did in her build-up to her double gold win in Athens, 2004.”