Everyone Active’s Sporting Champions, a scheme to support athletes from across the UK, has announced medal winning Olympic athlete Colin Jackson CBE as an ambassador for the sports development programme.

Olympic and Paralympic athletes supported by the scheme as ‘gold sponsored athletes’ include British male gymnast Max Whitlock, who has won two Olympic gold medals at Rio 2016; Tonia Couch, a female diver, who finished 5th in the synchronised 10m platform final at the Games; Alyson Dixon, who finished 28th in the women’s marathon in Brazil; and Jade Jones, a Paralympic wheelchair racer.

On becoming an ambassador, Jackson, who won a silver medal in the 110m high hurdles at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, said: “I’m proud to be involved with a scheme so dedicated to supporting athletic talent from grassroots up. It’s important that we drive sporting excellence in our country and help our young prospects achieve their dreams to hopefully become Olympians in their own right.”

The scheme was launched by Everyone Active this year, with the aim of providing ongoing support for talented athletes across the UK. Through its work with local authorities across the country, the business has supported more than 500 athletes with over £1million worth of sponsorship over the past four years.

Everyone Active’s Sporting Champions aims to continue supporting athletes by offering both monetary funding and access to Everyone Active’s leisure centres. It aims to help sports men and women achieve national and international sporting success by offering them gold, silver or bronze tiers of sponsorship. These packages provide them with funding for training, equipment, travel and competition costs, as well as access to over 140 Everyone Active leisure centres.

David Bibby, Everyone Active’s managing director, said: “We have long been committed to providing support for talented athletes across the country. When we established Everyone Active Sporting Champions, we aimed to continue this support and ensure that everyone has the chance to fulfil their potential.

“We are delighted to have former Olympic hurdler Colin Jackson as our official ambassador for this fantastic programme and look forward to working alongside him to provide athletes with the inspiration and support needed to succeed. We would like to wish all our athletes the best of luck, both at the games and future sporting events.”