British prime minister David Cameron visited the home club of one of the top British rowers in Northern Ireland today just minutes before Alan Campbell took to the water for the next stage in his bid for Olympics glory.
Mr Cameron met officials at the Bann Rowing Club in Coleraine in where Campbell first honed his skills.
“I wanted to come and see where they all trained,” he said.
If Alan Campbell and Britain’s lightweight men’s four get their way, the town of Coleraine will be decorated with three golden post boxes after the Olympics.
The Royal Mail has vowed to transform one traditionally red post box to gold in the home town of each British Olympic champion.
Campbell produced yesterday’s fastest single sculling performance to qualify for the semi-finals with victory by a length over Germany’s Marcel Hacker.
New Zealand’s five-time world champion Mahe Drysdale remains the favourite but Campbell’s commanding performance against the veteran German underlined his own podium potential.
Shortly afterwards, the Coleraine-born brothers Peter and Richard Chambers helped power the lightweight men’s four rowers into tomorrow's final and a shot at gold. They also train at the Bann rowing club.
Mr Cameron said: “Our country is a small country that does big things. The UK is a country that can deliver, that can get things done, that can put on an incredible show, that can make people feel proud to be British and, above all, can provide an inspiration for future generations.”
He met Katie Kirk (18) a 400m athlete who is a future Olympic hopeful and was nominated by Dame Mary Peters to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony at a civic reception in Coleraine.
Mr Cameron said: “The idea of all those petals (of fire) coming together... it was extremely beautiful and moving, it was also a brilliant feat of engineering.”
Mr Cameron joked that he was finding it hard to sleep because of the noise from the nearby beach volleyball.
He met a series of torchbearers from Northern Ireland, among thousands who carried it around the UK.
“The Olympic Games is something not just for London, not just for England, it is something for the whole of the UK, and it really brings it home to me, coming here to Coleraine and seeing the amazing contribution you are making to our rowing,” he said.
He added that people said a lot of things about the Games in advance which had not turned out to be the case.
“Getting the venues together, it has been brilliantly organised, with fantastic venues built on time and under budget. We can see a really professional, well put on, strong Games,” he said.
“The Games really have brought our country together, the torch really was a fantastic success.”
He said it was a good move to bring the flame to Ireland and won huge support across the border, showing everyone is taking part in the spirit of Olympic co-operation.
PA