Strive for Olympic success in Hampshire

With eight of Hampshire’s 32 Team GB Olympic athletes having brought home medals from the London 2012 Games, there’s plenty on offer in Hampshire to inspire the next generation of Olympic heroes.

Hampshire’s medal winners

• Dani King (Cycling - Gold) Hamble
• Peter Charles (Showjumping - Gold) Alton
• Ben Ainslie (Sailing - Gold) Lymington
• Iain Percy (Sailing - Silver) Southampton
• James Foad (Rowing - Bronze) Southampton
• Alex Danson (Womens Hockey - Bronze) Southampton
• Jon Scofield (Canoe Sprint - Bronze) Petersfield
• Alex Partridge (Rowing - Bronze) Alton

View a full list of Hampshire London 2012 competitors.

So whether it’s taking up a new sport, or pushing the limits in your current hobby, Hampshire County Council has a series of attractions, indoor and outdoor sports facilities and Country Parks which can really put your skills to the test.

If you want to follow in the footsteps of this year’s track cycling, archery, sailing, or canoeing athletes, then the County Council’s indoor and outdoor activity centres offer state-of-the-art facilities to get you started.

Calshot Activities Centre in Fawley is one of the largest Outdoor Adventure Centres in Britain and its velodrome has welcomed the likes of gold medal winners Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Geraint Thomas. Triathlon winners Alistair and Jonny Brownlee have also visited the Centre on their path to London 2012 glory.

If you are looking to increase your stamina in long-distance running, cycling or horse riding, why not train at one of Hampshire's seven country parks? They offer miles of trails, tracks and even coastline, and Queen Elizabeth, Royal Victoria and Lepe Country Parks were all recently awarded Green Flag Awards for their excellent use of green space, variety of attractions and well-maintained facilities.

If you would prefer to venture deeper into the countryside, then you can plan a route along one of our many scenic rights of way. The maps are now available as open data, enabling anyone to download the information that shows Hampshire’s Rights of Way paths, which can be used on computers, tablets and smart-phones with applications such as Google Earth.  

Olympic sailing medallists Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy both started their sailing careers on the south coast, and the River Hamble in Hampshire provides the perfect setting for all types of recreational boating, and is also home to thousands of sailing yachts and motorboats.

‘Sport Hampshire & IOW’ also works in partnership with the County Council and is one of 49 County Sports Partnerships in England. They are committed to increasing levels of participation in sport and physical activity in Hampshire and they have a range of contacts in all kinds of sports and activities - so whether it's gymnastics or swimming that you are keen to get into, you can find all the details online.

For more information about the sporting world in Hampshire, visit  the Sport Hampshire & IOW website.