Youth Olympics champion Danny Crouch with Chilton pupils
Youth Olympics champion Danny Crouch has urged children at Chilton Primary in Ramsgate to think big and follow their dreams.
In a special assembly the medal winning gymnast talked through his sporting journey and its ups and downs, his training regime, diet and his love for the sport.
Each class then spent time with Danny where they got to meet the acclaimed young sports star as we as having to chance to examine his medals, which were surprisingly heavy.
He upped the tempo by getting pupils to take part in some circuit-training exercises that form part of his regular fitness regime.
Danny’s greatest achievement is competing in the youth Olympics in Slovakia last year. He was champion on the floor and also achieved two silvers, one as a team, and one on the high bar.
He said: “It was a crazy experience as it’s the first competition where I’ve been around lots of different sportspeople. I was in the village, in an environment where I was meeting new people, and I was in a country I had never been to or competed in before.
His greatest challenge came in February when he was performing on the rings and ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament on landing.
He said: “I was doing my A levels at the time, and I knew that if had to sit my exams following the operation meaning I would have had to sit them with my leg up in the air. The operation went very smoothly, but they take a part of your hamstring to repair the ACL, which meant that my legs were very weak following my operation.”
His big aim is to break into the senior gymnastics field and join the senior world championships team for GB. Looking further ahead he hopes to compete in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, competing as an all-rounder for Team GB, but also make the floor or high bar finals.
Deputy Head of School Hannah Cheshire said: “Danny was a real inspiration for us all. He has already achieved so much and has such a positive mental attitude to beat a very serious injury.
“The children loved the opportunity to meet someone who is so driven and successful in what they do and it tied in well with our theme of aspirations, showing the children what you can achieve with dedication and hard work.”
Chilton Primary is also helping to raise money to support a crowd-funder by Sports For Champions UK for Danny’s sports journey. Full details are available online at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/chilton-primary-school
