Team GB Olympic athletes lead the way on new activity trails

Team GB Olympians Kate French and Mohamed Sbihi are helping to launch two new activity trails which are designed to encourage families to be active.

The project, called ‘Green2Gold’ is being held in collaboration with Team GB and the focus is on looking at greenspace exercise as a route to tackling health inequalities in East Yorkshire.

The trails will be launched on Saturday 24th June at Victoria Dock Park and Sunday 25th June at Valley Gardens (Withernsea).

Esther Carter, PhD student at the University of Hull, who created the trails, said: “We’re keen to create an activity that is accessible to many people and could encourage ‘stealthy’ exercise.

“By having free walking trails in place, that people can take part in at any time, issues surrounding the cost of activities and a lack of time are reduced. These are commonly cited as barriers to taking part in physical activity.

“Two things that are great for improving general health are being regularly physically active and spending time outdoors in nature.

After researching what was already available in terms of greenspace exercise as a means of engaging communities in physical activity, two interactive walking trails have been developed.

These trails are walking routes that go around local outdoor nature spaces and walkers are encouraged to look out for Team GB branded signposts that include unique activities and fun facts.

Kate French and Mohamed Sbihi will lead a warm-up for families before they join people on the walk around the trails.

Kate French took gold in the modern pentathlon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and was the highest finishing British modern pentathlete at Rio 2016. She was made an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours.

Mohamed Sbihi, won a bronze medal with the men’s eight at London 2012 before taking gold in the men’s four in Rio 2016. He returned for his third Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020, where he was Team GB’s flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony and later claimed his third Olympic medal in the men’s eight.

At the Hull event: The route will begin at The Deep and will take walkers along the waterfront and dock areas to Victoria Park - a hidden gem. The route will then guide users back through various greenspaces back towards The Deep. There will be 13 signposts to look out for along the way!

In Withernsea: There are four trail options of differing lengths to suit all abilities; the gold medal route, silver medal route, bronze medal route, and the Lion route. Families should keep their eyes peeled as there’ll be 21 signposts in total, with the route going through numerous promenade areas, parks and streets.

Event Details

The event in Hull will be held on Saturday 24^th June at Victoria Dock Park (South Bridge Road, Hull, HU9 1TL).

The event in Withernsea will be held on Sunday 25^th June at Valley Gardens (Withernsea HU19 2DN).

Both events will run from 11:00am to 3:00pm. The athlete-led walks will be 11am and 1pm

There is no sign-up to attend, families can simply join on the day.