BT Ambassadors

BT Ambassadors

Inspiring involvement in London 2012 is a key element of our role as official communications services partner, spreading the word to our customers, suppliers and communities across the UK about all of the work we are doing to support the Games.

The BT London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Ambassadors are a dedicated team of world-class sportsmen and women brought together to spread the word about BT and the Games. Their role is partly about channelling the Olympic and Paralympic Values to help unleash the potential of BT people, sharing their inspirational stories about commitment, dedication and performing at your best at all times. But it also extends to inspiring customers, suppliers and local communities about BT’s pivotal role in making the Games happen.

The BT Ambassadors are outstanding athletes who have been given a special task in the lead-up to the Games. Not just exceptional sporting performers, they are motivational story-tellers, powerful advocates and dedicated ambassadors for BT. They have been fundamental in galvanising and inspiring our workforce to meet the delivery challenges of London 2012, and sharing those efforts with our wider stakeholders. They are our London 2012 Dream Team, and a prime example of the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to shape lives and inspire excellence.
Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius is one of the greatest success stories of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, winning three gold medals in world record times in the T44 100m, 200m and 400m. Widely known as the greatest name in elite disability sport, the double amputee’s achievements came in the same year that he was sanctioned to compete in the Olympic Games if he achieved the qualification criteria.

The 25-year-old who was born with congenital absence of the fibula in both legs now races with carbon fibre artificial legs which have led to the nick name ‘Blade Runner’.

Having competed in the inaugural event in 2005 and every year since except 2008, Oscar has a great history with the BT Paralympic World Cup, winning multiple gold medals every year. In 2010 Oscar achieved a 400m lifetime best in Lucerne, going on in the same month to set a new world record of 47.04 in the T44 400m at the Aviva Grand Prix, as well as running an even faster time of 46.93 in the able-bodied race at the same competition.

In 2006, Oscar was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in Bronze (OIB) by the President of South Africa for outstanding achievement in sports and in 2007 he was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award, which is awarded for outstanding courage and achievement in the face of adversity.

Coached by Ampie Louw and residing in Pretoria in South Africa, Oscar is also studying for a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Management with Sports Science at the University of Pretoria. His sporting motto is, “You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have; you are able by the abilities you have.”

Oscar’s next challenge is to qualify for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012.
Ade Adepitan

There’s not much that Ade Adepitan hasn’t accomplished. The enthusiastic Paralympian has won medals at the highest level, completed the London marathon, and succeeded as a sports commentator and actor. Ade’s 18 years in Wheelchair Basketball saw him gain over 90 caps for Great Britain, with career highlights including winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens and gold at the 2005 Paralympic World Cup in Manchester. After his retirement from Wheelchair Basketball, Ade decided to focus on a new challenge and, since 2007, has been training and competing in Wheelchair Tennis.

Ade was an integral part of the delegation that went to Singapore to win the 2012 Olympic bid for London and also travelled with the Paralympic team to Beijing 2008, where he witnessed the GB men’s team achieve a bronze medal by beating the USA in their final game. Ade became interested in wheelchair basketball after watching coverage of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984. He gave the sport a spin and, after triumphing at the Stoke Mandeville Junior Games, never looked back. His swift manoeuvres and fast, accurate throwing on court helped propel Great Britain’s basketball team to glory, and the team has continued to strive forward since his retirement in 2006.

Ade’s hard work and enthusiasm make him a worthy role model and important ambassador to British Paralympians. His services to disability sport have been recognised at many levels, with the Queen awarding Ade an MBE in the 2005 Birthday Honours list and Loughborough University presenting him with an Honorary Doctorate in 2006. His dedication to disability sport has played a pivotal role in building the exposure and development of the Paralympic Games in London 2012.

Ade is a patron of the disability sport charity, Wheel Power, The Association of Wheelchair Children and Scope, and is also an ambassador for the NSPCC and The Prince’s Trust.
Alistair & Jonathan Brownlee

Alistair Brownlee

Alistair Brownlee is one of Great Britain’s strongest medal hopes for London 2012. He became the World Triathlete Champion in 2009 at just 21-years-old and claimed National, European and World titles at junior level as well as being a straight A student. He gave up the opportunity to study Medicine at Cambridge in order to pursue his dream of becoming an Olympic Champion.

Alistair qualified for Beijing with a third place finish at the Madrid ITU World Cup, and he also became U23 World Champion in 2008. At the Beijing Olympics he finished in 12th place after a fantastic race where he demonstrated to his rivals that he is one to be watched.

In 2009, Alistair dominated the Triathlon World Championship Series with a remarkable five victories from five races (Madrid, Washington DC, Kitzbuhel, London, Gold Coast) to become World Champion.

Returning from injury in 2010, Alistair regained his winning style claiming gold in his first World Championship Series this season in Madrid and followed this up with a win a month later at the European championships.

Jonathan Brownlee

Following in his older brother Alistair’s footsteps, Jonathan, at only 20-years-old, has won all the titles that are available to him at Junior and Youth level in both the Triathlon and the Dualthon. He is currently studying History at Leeds Metropolitan University whilst also training full time.

At the beginning of 2010 Jonathan won the Australian Youth Olympics and then went on to gain the European Junior title. He ran his final race as a junior at the World Junior Championships in Australia and came home with a silver medal.

Having successfully moved up to the senior ranks, Jonathan is already kicking at the heels of his older brother and other seniors in the World Series following a second place ahead of his brother at the London leg of the World Championships as well as claiming a world title at the recent inaugural ITU Elite Sprint Triathlon World Championships in Lausanne ahead of British team mate Tim Don. In November 2010, Jonathan was named Olympic Athlete of the Year at the British Triathlon Awards.

Jonathan is an emerging talent and certainly one to watch as we lead up to 2012.
Daley Thompson

Daley Thompson claims more decathlon honors than anybody before or after him. He was the first person ever to hold the World, Olympic, Commonwealth and European titles at the same time, as well as the World Record. He was unbeaten in competition for 9 years.

He was Olympic Champion in 1980 and 1984, World Champion in 1983, European Champion in 1982 and 1986 and Commonwealth Champion in 1978, 1982, and 1986 and he set four World Records (8648 in 1980, 8730 and 8774 in 1982 and 8847 in his Olympic triumph in Los Angeles in 1984). He was simply the world’s greatest decathlete, drawing on a competitive attitude and ability that was unparalleled. Daley had an exuberant character on and off the track and such was his success and popularity he made athletics front page news.

He retired from athletics in 1992 as a result of injury, and went on to play football for Wimbledon and Mansfield Town FC. He was awarded the MBE in 1982, an OBE in 1986 and advanced to CBE in 2000, and was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1982. Daley was a leading ambassador for the winning London 2012 Olympic Games bid. He focused on highlighting the benefits that hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games would bring to education and sport in schools, and he played a key role lobbying the international IOC members’ right down to the final vote in Singapore.

He is one of the most ardent supporters of the London 2012 Games and believes bringing the greatest show on earth to his home town – London – will be great for the whole of Britain and in the long term should help to promote sport and fitness to a whole new inspired generation.
Greg Searle

Greg Searle MBE may be a veteran of British Rowing but he is back on the TeamGB rowing squad and has his sights firmly set on a place at London 2012 alongside his team mates.

Greg started rowing in 1985 after watching his brother Jonny win The Princess Elizabeth Cup at Henley and Martin Cross win Gold at the LA Olympics in 1984. He rowed for Hampton School until 1990 before moving to Molesey Boat Club and straight into the GB team. A member of the GB rowing squad, he has won numerous Olympic, World Championships, and World Cup medals – including a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games, alongside his brother Jonny.

Greg stepped out of rowing in 2001 to take up the position as grinder in the America’s Cup team but made an amazing return, winning a silver medal at the 2010 World Rowing Championships.

Alongside competing, Greg has worked as a performance consultant at Lane 4 Management Group since 1997, a company set up by Olympic swimmer Adrian Moorhouse, working with senior executives as a personal coach or facilitating team meetings and running developmental workshops. He likes the idea of being able to inspire others through his experience.

“I’m thrilled to be coming on board as a BT ambassador and hope I can use my experience as an athlete and a personal coach to inspire and motivate BT people”.
Hannah Cockroft

Hannah Cockroft, a wheelchair racer from Halifax in Yorkshire, is one of GB’s Paralympic medal hopefuls for London 2012.

When Hannah was born, she suffered two cardiac arrests directly after birth. This left her with permanent cerebral damage, resulting in weak hips and mobility problems and affecting the fine motor skills in her hands. Hannah uses a wheelchair for long distances but does have a small ability to walk.

Hannah began wheelchair racing in 2007 and is now is now the T34 world record holder in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m distance. At the IPC World Athletics Championships in 2011 Hannah raced to gold in both the 100m and 200m, a remarkable achievement for her debut at a senior international competition.

Hannah is still in full time education at Calderdale College, doing a sports level 2 diploma in a gap year from University. She has a place deferred on the Sports development course at Leeds Metropolitan University until after 2012. Previously, Hannah competed at National level in Wheelchair basketball and the seated discus before dropping both sports to concentrate solely on her racing.
Jonnie Peacock

Jonnie Peacock competes in the T44 100m and is one of Britain’s most exciting young Paralympic athletes.

Jonnie lost his right leg below the knee after contracting meningococcal septicaemia at the age of 5. Always active, he went on to play in his school football and rugby teams as well as the local football team. In 2008, Jonnie decided to find out more about disability sport and went to a talent identification event in London’s Mile End A few days later the British Paralympic Association invited him to attend trials for a 5 month power programme. He made it on to the program and from there got set up with UK Athletics and a local sprint coach. He has been training and improving in the 100m sprint ever since and soon hopes to take on the 200m as well.

The Cambridge-born athlete showed rapid development in 2011 and his personal best time at the London Grand Prix marked him as one-to-watch ahead of London 2012. Jonnie hopes to line up against fellow BT Ambassador Oscar Pistorius at the Paralympic Games in 2012, having first raced him in 2009 at that year’s BT Paralympic World Cup.
Dame Kelly Holmes

Dame Kelly Holmes is one of the most iconic faces of British sport. She secured her place in British history by becoming the first ever British athlete to win both the 800m and 1500m at the 2004 Olympic Games. Her successes were duly acknowledged through a series of high profile awards and accolades including the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, European Athlete of the year, Laureus World Sports Woman of the Year, and in 2005 the ultimate honour of a Dame Hood from the Queen in the New Years Honours lists.

Having served her country as a Physical Training Instructor in the British Army for over nine years and achieving her lifelong dream of becoming an Olympic Champion, Kelly continues to strive for excellence in everything she does and in 2006 was appointed as the National School Sport Champion a post she held for three years. The opportunity to witness at first hand the immense pool of youth talent in the UK is hugely important to Dame Kelly and in recognition of the need to nurture and develop this talent Dame Kelly has set up her successful mentoring and education initiative ‘On Camp with Kelly’ for 60 young aspiring middle distance athletes. In 2009, Dame Kelly also became the new President of Commonwealth Games England.

Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust is the charity that she has set up which aims to harness the expertise of retired sporting champions and realise the talent in others. Kelly is delighted to be working with BT as the Trust’s first Corporate Sponsor, in a programme that is backing the talent of elite young sports people.

“When I stood on the podium in Athens six years ago, I had realised a lifelong dream. The journey I had been on had many highs and lows, all of which contributed to my final success in winning my two gold medals. Having achieved this goal, I needed to decide a new direction for my life. I knew I had a lot to give and wanted a chance to make a difference to people.”
Lee Pearson

Lee is the World’s most successful Paralympic dressage rider and has amassed a total of 24 gold medals since starting Paralympic dressage competitions in 1998.

Lee has a condition called arthrogryposis, which means his muscles didn’t grow correctly. As a child, he had to have 15 operations and does not have mobility in his ankles or knees and restricted movement in all of his other limbs.

Lee started riding ponies as a child because he was unable to join his brothers on their BMX adventures. He began taking lessons at a riding school from the age of just eight years old and realised that this was a sport that enabled him to fully participate and give him a huge amount of freedom. It wasn’t long before his parents had bought him a donkey on which to roam around the paddock.

He won three gold medals in the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games, and repeated this success in the 2004 in Athens. Unbelievably, he successfully repeated the defence of his titles in Beijing in 2008, winning another three gold medals. These Paralympic Games achievements, coupled with World and European Championship titles, mark a truly distinguished career that is far from over, with Lee aiming to compete at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in September 2010 and London Paralympic Games 2012.

In recognition of his equestrian success and services to disability sport, Lee was awarded an MBE in 2001, an OBE in 2005 and then a CBE in the 2009 New Year’s Honours list. He was also the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Staffordshire University in 2005.

“I’m thrilled to be part of the BT Ambassador programme and look forward to defending my titles in London 2012”.

“Riding horses gives you the freedom and movement that you can lack when you have a disability”.
Liz Johnson

Liz Johnson won gold at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and is fully focussed to do the same in London 2012.

Liz who first began swimming at the age of three in the hope that it would help her cerebral palsy became part of the British Paralympic swimming team at the age of just 14-years-old. She went on to win three gold medals at the IPC World Championships and silver in her debut Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004.

Liz’s greatest achievement to date came at the 2008 Paralympics where she won gold in the 100m Breaststroke.

In 2009 Liz moved to Bath to begin training at the University and in November she set a new world record in the 50m Breaststroke at the Disability National Swimming Short Course Championships. Only one month later Liz broke her own world record and won gold at the IPC World Short Course Swimming Championships in Rio de Janiero.

Since graduating in 2008 Liz has also been pursuing a career in accounting and is studying for her ACCA qualification.

At this year’s BT Paralympic World Cup, Liz achieved a silver medal in the 100m Breaststroke as well as picking up a bronze medal at the recent IPC World Swimming Championships as she continues on her quest to 2012.
Nathan Stephens

At the age of nine, Paralympic field athlete, Nathan Stephens, had both legs amputated after he was run over by a train. This accident has never stopped Nathan aspiring to achieve his personal goals and at 21-years-old he is now a Junior World gold medallist in all three of his field events, F57 Discus, Javelin and Shot Put.

Nathan is one of the UK’s most talented Paralympic athletes and has represented Great Britain at both the Paralympic Winter Games in 2006 in Sled Hockey and the Paralympic Games in Beijing last year, where he narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the javelin, eighth in the shot put and eleventh in the discus.

The inspirational Welshman manages to combine his busy training and competition schedule with studying for a sports coaching degree at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC).

“Looking ahead to 2012, I think I’ll be a lot more nervous than I was in Beijing as I’ll be in front of a home crowd and the expectation is there. But I take that on positively and think it will spur me on to do my best and hopefully get a podium spot. The BT Paralympic World Cup is always a good marker to know where you stand in the rankings and having the opportunity to compete there in the years leading up to 2012 is great”
Leon Taylor

Leon’s passion for everything he does has helped him achieve sustained success at the highest level. Considered a feat in itself for such a physically punishing sport, his career lasted more than 20 years and his successes brough

Training in the pre-lottery funding era in a minority sport brought its challenges but in the Athens Olympics of 2004, Leon and his diving partner Peter Waterfield, managed to secure Britain’s first medal in the sport for 44 years.

An honour which led to additional investment in the sport and the development of a new crop of British talent.

He is acknowledged within the sport for pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. His invention of ‘the worlds most difficult dive’ – a backward 2.5 somersaults with 2.5 twists in the piked position is a legacy that continues to live long after his competitive days.