Tokyo Olympics: Corby BMX centre 'so proud' of British medals

The urban sports centre where Team GB's Olympic BMX freestyle medal winners train said they were "so proud" of their successes.

Charlotte Worthington thanked Adrenaline Alley in Corby after winning a gold medal in Tokyo on Sunday.

The centre, where bronze medal winner Declan Brooks also trains, said it was in danger of closing last year.

Mandy Young, who started the centre after her son was attacked, said it was "an emotional day".

The skateboard and BMX park in the Northamptonshire town was inspired by Mrs Young's son John, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour as a child.

He was a keen skater, but while at school he was attacked and had his skateboard stolen.

Wanting "somewhere safe" for him and his friends, she opened Adrenaline Alley in 2006 and she said it had since been used by more than 25,000 young people.

It offers facilities for BMX, skateboard and scooter riders with ramps, foam pits and training areas catering for beginners to Olympians.

Following the Team GB pair's medal success, Adrenaline Alley tweeted that it was "unbelievable" that two medals were "coming home".

"We are so proud," they said.

Manchester's Worthington, 25, landed the first-ever 360 backflip to be performed in women's competition to take the title.

Brooks, 25, from Portsmouth, won a bronze medal that meant Team GB had finished on the podium in all four BMX competitions in Tokyo.

Mrs Young, who has been awarded an MBE for services to young people, said it had been "incredible to watch them training over the years" and for them "to win, and they way in which it was done - was phenomenal".

"It's my son's legacy; it's been quite an emotional day knowing that he's changed people's lives - the medals have been the icing on the cake," she added.

She said that when she started, she had not thought urban sports "would get anywhere near the Olympics" but participation had been growing and the effect of seeing medals accruing could only be positive.

Last April, during the first coronavirus pandemic lockdown, it was thought the centre could only survive for another three to four months.

After reopening between August and December, and closing when lockdown was reintroduced in January, they opened again on 17 May.

Mrs Young said "participation has been very, very slow" and she hoped that Worthington and Brooks mentioning them after their successes would boost numbers.

"We need to get back to everybody coming again," she said.

"We really hope that seeing it on the Olympic stage means people will come and try it out.

"Obviously the Olympics is a world stage and we're absolutely stoked that [Worthington and Brooks] included us in all of this - hopefully people will come along because they've seen and heard of us there."

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