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8 October 2021
Just back from Tokyo 2020, Paralympic Gold Medalist Lauren Steadman made Portsmouth High Prep School’s assembly her first school stop to share her phenomenol Olympic success.
Lauren is a British Paralympic athlete who has competed in four summer Paralympics, in both swimming and paratriathlon. She competed in Beijing (2008) and London (2012) as a swimmer before switching to the paratriathlon for Rio (2016), where she won a silver medal, and to Tokyo (2020) where she won gold.
Fresh from the buzz of the games, Lauren shared both the tears and joys of training to be a Paralympic athlete.
‘I have spent many years of going to bed early, rising at 4.30am for training, a strict diet and being driven by my dream to win a gold medal’ said Lauren.
‘Mental resilience and determination are vital ingredients for success; if you aren’t good enough at first, keep trying and you will succeed.’
Lauren’s message was particularly relevant at the prep school’s morning assembly, which was led by Year 2 sharing their own personal experiences of failing and not being afraid to keeping on trying until they met with success.
Lauren said ‘It is an absolute pleasure to visit the prep school today to share how I achieved my Olympic success. It is so important to keep on trying and be resilient when things don’t go according to plan, whatever goal you are trying to reach. It has been a joy to see the delight on the girls’ faces at seeing a gold medal and I hope I have inspired them to follow their dreams, whatever it takes.’
