Olympian Greg returns to city for jumper jumping judging

The Olympic gold-winner returned to his childhood town to meet year four pupils at Summerfield Primary School and judge a jumping-themed relay competition.

Dressed in their finest winter woollies, in aid of Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day, Greg and the youngsters enjoyed the school’s first ever sports assembly.

During the assembly, Greg awarded eight pupils special sporting awards for their performance throughout the year. He then gave an inspiring talk about his journey to becoming an athlete and answered questions from pupils.

Before the Jumping in Jumpers relay began, the MBE-titled British athlete also shared his top jumping tips with the eight- and nine-year-olds. As part of his advice, he revealed how to jump the highest and longest distances.

The relay saw five teams compete in a special Christmas-themed sporting competition which included a sack race, bauble and spoon race, long jump and an obstacle course.

Greg awarded three prizes. These recognised the ‘winning team’ for the pupils who demonstrated the best sporting performance; ‘best sports personality’ for the pupil with the most charm; and ‘best jumper’ for the pupil wearing the wackiest woolly.

Greg said: “It’s been an honour to return to my old hometown to talk to aspiring young athletes and judge Summerfield School’s ‘Jumping in Jumpers’ competition. There were some amazing jumpers – both knits and performers – so selecting winners was tough!”