City thanks its Olympic and Paralympic heroes

Schoolchildren quizzed their sporting heroes as a city said thank you to its Olympic and Paralympic athletes for representing their hometown at the Paris games.

Youngsters from several local secondary schools attended a special reception organised by Mayor of Colchester Lesley Scott-Boutell.

They were joined by sprinter Charlie Dobson, boxer Lewis Richardson, and high jumper Jonathan Broom-Edwards, who were all born in the city.

"You make us proud beyond words and Colchester stands in awe of you," independent councillor Scott-Boutell told the athletes at Colchester Town Hall.

The trio answered questions about balancing training with school, dealing with nerves, and the chocolate muffins served up at the Olympic and Paralympic Village.

Richardson, who came home from Paris with a bronze medal, said qualifying for the Paris Olympics "really fulfilled a lifelong dream".

"I'm just a normal local lad from Colchester. I come from a council estate, which I'm really proud of," he told the BBC.

"I'm really grateful for those experiences that the area provided me and to have the support from the city is really nice and it's quite humbling."

Dobson, who started training with the Colchester Harriers Athletics Club when he was in Year 7, said it was "always nice" to spend time in his hometown.

"I don't come back as often as I would like, to be honest. Training takes over my life and I'm always away for competitions and stuff."

He said winning a bronze medal as part of the men's 4x400m relay team at the Olympics was the highlight of his year.

Broom-Edwards said he was proud to have competed at the Paralympics after being given a 1% chance of making it to Paris after undergoing surgery just weeks before the Games.

"I had so many people telling me 'it's not possible... you may as well stop and just enjoy the rest of the summer' but there was a niggling inside me that there was still a chance."

Despite moving away from Colchester as a child, he said the city remained "a big part of me".

"The people of Colchester have got behind me and supported me for so long and I've got so much love for them."

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