TAVISTOCK College has welcomed Olympic medal winning athlete Heather Fell to train on the community track.
Heather, who scooped silver in the women's modern pentathlon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, practised 600 metre runs on the six-lane track as part of her training regime.
She said: 'My coach set me a track session and I needed a 600 metre mark which the Tavistock track has,' she said. 'I like running here because it's a nice setting. I think the track is brilliant and it's available for everyone. It's amazing how many bigger towns don't have facilities half this standard. It's a great idea for Tavistock and I know people further afield want to use it too.'
Heather has a gruelling training schedule covering the five sports which make up the modern pentathlon. She rides up to five times per week, has an average of three fencing sessions, swims four to seven times and runs five days per week. Heather added: 'I haven't shot for two weeks now as my equipment is stuck in Prague because of the Icelandic volcano, but I usually shoot every other day.'
Tavistock College, in partnership with Kelly College and Okehampton College, has been approved as a training camp ahead of the London 2012 Olympics thanks to a £3 million investment in new facilities. The colleges hope to attract a national team to the area in advance of the games and are keen to hear from anyone with connections with foreign Olympic athletes.
To book the track, or other facilities, call Tavistock Community Sports Centre on 01822 813238.