Team USA Olympians invite UEL taekwondo club into training session
Friday 3 August 2012
Team USA’s taekwondo stars invited the University of East London’s taekwondo club into their training session at the University’s multimillion pound SportsDock yesterday.
The team of four, comprising Terrence Jennings, Diana Lopez, Steven Lopez and Paige McPherson went through various drills, while the UEL students looked on in awe.
Paige, AKA McFierce, and Terrence, or TJ as he is known, then took time out of their intense training schedule ahead of their competitive events next week to take part in an extended Q&A session with the UEL club members.
Shaun Short, President of the UEL club said: “Speaking to the athletes, it’s great to see how down to earth they all are. Getting my team in to see them gives them something to aim for. I’m sure all of us are inspired to drive harder now to become Olympians ourselves. It feels like a reachable goal now, they’ve made It very human, when it seemed unattainable before.”
He added: “The whole area is thriving because of what’s happening here at SportsDock. UEL is aiming to become the best university in London for sport by 2015, and all of this is going a huge way towards achieving that goal.”
Paige McPherson said, on meeting the students: “It’s very inspiring for us to have people come in to watch us train. I remember when I was younger and I looked up to those Olympians, Steven Lopez, now one of my team mates; just being able to see people like that support you makes you want to train harder and fight harder."
“I’m always inspired by my team mates, TJ for example, whenever I see him train I am always amazed by his talent, that drive and ambition is contagious and makes me want to be my best as well.”
She added: “In December, we came here when they were developing this centre and so we got to tour what they were going to do. Now that we’re here, this is one of the best facilities in the world. I would definitely say take advantage of it if you live here, any sport you decide to do, just take a chance, a sport shows you what you’re capable of, it pushes you and challenges you. If you keep at your sport, you can learn about yourself as a person.”
Paige competes in the women’s taekwondo 67kg category on Friday 10 August.TJ first competes on the Thursday in the men’s 68kg category.
Notes to Editors
The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.
