Olympians - Past, Present & Future - get set for 2012 at Lloyds' Westfield Launch

Olympic champion Collin Jackson was amongst the list of big names yesterday at the launch of Westfield, Stratford City.

Tens of thousands flooded the doors at 8am, as the doors to the East London complex were opened. Many are said to have queued for periods as extensive as twenty hours to take advantage of opening day offers in some 300 stores.

The shopping centre which looks to replicate the success of its sister mall in White City was described by the mayor as “one of the most important legacies of the 2012 Olympics”.

Meanwhile, the Olympics looked to have come early for ecstatic shoppers got the chance to have their photo taken with the Olympic torch, in the newly-opened Lloyds TSB. Lloyd’s TSB is an official partner of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

At midday, Collin Jackson opened the mall’s branch bank to excited shoppers that immediately formed queues for photos with the former Olympian.

At the launch, Jackson, a silver Olympic medallist himself, cemented his support for the high street bank’s Local Heroes scheme. The scheme launched in 2008, sees Lloyds TSB provide financial support to hundreds of emerging athletes across the UK, to help cover essential costs like training and necessary sports equipment.

The athlete-turned-presenter told me:

“It’s really important for us to get involved with the community and the Olympics experience, and really get into the heart of the community. Lloyds TSB are lucky enough that they are in it…So it’s a good initiative for us to get involved and I think the more information we can drum up; the more enthusiasm we can drum about the Olympic games is gonna be better for everyone!”

Some of the promising talents were on hand at the grand opening to talk about how the scheme had benefited them:

“I’ve been on the scheme since 2008 when it started" Local Hero Twinelle Hopeson imparted. "They sponsor us by giving us a grant each year of £1000 which goes towards physiotherapy, travelling costs and things like that. Also, we get to do coverage things, for example I’ve been to the Olympic stadium; been filmed for the BBC, and it’s all through Lloyd’s TSB”, the 100m sprinter from Croydon revealed.

Tyler Saunders, a wheelchair basketball athlete from Edgware echoed similar contentment:

“As a young person doing a sport there’s a lot of costs involved and for Lloyds TSB to give you a grant towards it, it makes life that bit easier. You can just focus on the sport instead of trying to raise money in order to do the sport”

He continued: “It’s a really good initiative. Lloyds are one of the main sponsors of the Olympics; Instead of just saying ‘yeah, we’re a partner’; they’re actually putting money into emerging athletes, so come 2016 there’s actually going to be a pool of young British athletes coming through due to Lloyds TSB”.

Whilst they acknowledge the 2012 games are too imminent to expect glory, both young heroes fervently anticipate medals at Rio 2016.

On Saturday, Tyler and Twinelle will return to Lloyd’s TSB Westfield with other fellow athletes, for an event further publicising the Olympics and Local Heroes Scheme.