One of Great Britain’s most successful athletes reminisced on a fine career as part of a sportsman’s lunch in Ely.

One of Great Britain's most successful athletes reminisced on a fine career as part of a sportsman's lunch in Ely.

Former World and European relay champion Derek Redmond attended SportsAid's event at Ely City Golf Club today, reflecting on a memorable athletics career to local businesses.

Redmond spoke to a packed audience at the Cambridgeshire venue, including 'that' moment where he crossed the finish line with his father Jim after injuring himself in the 400m semi-final at the 1992 Olympics.

"It's nice to come to areas like Ely where there is support for young sportsmen and women, and for the likes of SportsAid to try and help these people give money that's going to go to a good cause," he said.

"When you look back over your career, it's always great and see what you've achieved.

"You come to events like this and it's the people who come up to you and say 'my goodness, what you've done', you realise 'yeah, it's quite a lot'.

"There's nothing better than talking about good times."

Redmond has been a SportsAid ambassador for 10 years, and having received his first grant while he was starting out, he recognises the importance of helping the next generation.

"When I was about 15 years of age, I got my first SportsAid grant and it meant a lot to me," he said.

"That was one of the building blocks that got me to where I was, so I want to help other sportsmen and women to have that same feeling and get that same support.

"I get a lot out of it knowing that I'm helping raise money for tomorrow's generation of sportsmen and women."

Paula Sparling, administrator at SportsAid, added: "We're slowly capturing people (known guest speakers), and by having good speakers like Derek is really helpful.

"Normally, the recipient is in awe, but they're (the speakers) inspiring them; it's lovely."

SportsAid offers support for promising young British athletes by providing financial help, recognition and development opportunities during the early stages of their career.

The next SportsAid event at Ely City Golf Club is on Friday, May 1, 2020 with former England cricketer Geoff Miller OBE the special guest.