CHILDREN from Great Yarmouth had the chance to meet Olympic gold medal winning athletes Linford Christie (pictured) and Darren Campbell when the pair visited the town to promote their athletics project.

CHILDREN from Great Yarmouth had the chance to meet Olympic gold medal winning athletes Linford Christie (pictured) and Darren Campbell when the pair visited the town to promote their athletics project.

Youngsters showed off their sprint skills by participating in 60m races on the Promenade of the resort's Golden Mile last Friday when Christie's Nuff Respect scheme visited the town to try and inspire children to take up a sport.

Campbell, 34, said: “Basically this initiative was set up four years ago because we wanted to inspire young people into believing in themselves. Potentially, they could take up a sport they have never bothered trying.”

He added: “I was lucky. My mum spotted my talent when I was five-years-old and took me down to my local athletics club, but we had two lads who had never run before in their lives who took part in a street race in London and went on to win English schools titles.”

Competitors participated in different age groups from under-13s to under-20s and the two fastest runners in each heat go on to the national finals in Manchester on September 20 with the opportunity of winning a year's contract with Reebok.