London’s competition includes New York, Madrid, Moscow and Paris.
Born with no legs, Ali Jawad from Tottenham develops an interest in powerlifting at a local club. Ali progresses rapidly in his first year and goes on to earn a place in the Great Britain team for the Beijing Games in 2008.
Paris is pipped to the post by London to host the Games. Just four votes by secret electronic ballot secured London’s win, with Paris receiving 50 votes and London 54.
The Indian team trains at UEL’s Docklands campus on a visit organised by Tessa Sanderson and the Newham Sports Academy. As UEL develops more top class sports facilities it hopes to offer its campus for use as a training camp and accommodation for overseas athletes during London 2012.
Running for a bus marked the start of sporting success for Jeffrey Lawal Balogun who was awarded the first sports scholarship from the University of East London. Jeffrey takes time off from his BA Marketing Studies to focus on training for the London 2012 Games. His sporting career began when, aged 19, he joined Kent Athletics Club after being spotting running for a bus!
As part of this initiative LERI publishes From Beijing to Bow Bells: Measuring the Olympic Effect by Gavin Poynter.
A group of 35 Chinese university leaders arrived at UEL’s Docklands campus and lecturers from the university’s School of Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies flew East to present a conference paper at Beijing's prestigious Renmin University.
UEL’s local borough Newham opens an Academy to support and develop talented young athletes. Director of the Sports Academy is Tessa Sanderson CBE, five-times gold medal winning javelin-thrower and an Honorary Doctor of the University of East London. UEL's sports scientists work with the Academy to develop monitoring programmes for young athletes and potential Olympians.
Research carried out by the University of East London for the Greater London Assembly is published. The report highlights the work needed to secure the Games’ legacy for London as well as progress made so far
First intake in The Institute for Performing Arts Development (IPAD). This new degree also includes a compulsory placement module, giving students the opportunity to work with dance companies and dance development agencies across London able to take part in the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
