London 2012 promised to deliver a great deal: both sporting achievements and an enduring legacy to carry the spirit of the Olympics beyond this summer’s hype. This legacy has been talked about in numerous different ways, and this week Cambridgeshire County Council released a statement saying that they were “working to develop a lasting legacy” that would benefit residents throughout the area.

Cambridgeshire was praised by Councillor Martin Curtis, Lead Member for Olympic and Paralympic Legacy at Cambridgeshire County Council, for grasping “the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented by the Games.” The need to maintain the momentum of this interest was addressed by the Councillor as he laid out plans for athletes, Torchbearers and Gamesmakers to be congratulated as they visit five schools across Cambridgeshire this week to talk to children.

The Cambridge Union Society hosted a panel of renowned Olympians this week, where they were asked about their views on London 2012’s legacy. Tim Baillie, winner of Team GB’s first gold medal this summer in C2 canoe slalom, highlighted that hosting the games had provided “a very rare resource” by building world-class sporting venues that open up participation to the public. Josie Pearson, 2012 Paralympic champion in F51 discus, believed London set a very high benchmark for changing preconceptions about Paralympic sport and showing that disabled athletes are “still elite athletes”.

Dan Gordon, 2004 European Paralympic cycling champion for 1km Time Trial and Match Sprint, said he was taken aback by the interest in the London Paralympics and believes sport is a very powerful medium to build public spirit and unite people. However, as a now retired athlete who also lectures at Anglia Ruskin, Dan can take a step back from the Olympic buzz in order to express his concern about legacy being a “very woolly” idea. Government policy tends to sidestep around making concrete plans to pursue real aims, instead ambiguously promising, as Cambridge County Council has done, to “work hard with all our partners to make sure the enthusiasm of the summer does not die.”

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