SWIMMING Garnett gets boost

Mar 18 2009 By Jacob Murtagh, Staines News

STAINES swimming star Alex Garnett will be guided by experience as he battles to compete in the 2012 London Olympics.

The towering 18-year-old will be able to turn for advice and support to Shelley Rudman, the Winter Olympic silver medal winner and European Bob Skeleton champion

Garnett has been selected for the King of Shaves "Young Blades" programme, a national mentoring scheme which helps young sports stars of the future as they bid to become elite performers in their chosen sport.

Garnett was presented with a cheque for £1,000 by Rudman and Will King, the founder and CEO of King of Shaves, at the Third Space Gym in Piccadilly, London.

The funding will go towards Garnett's training, kit and competition costs, and he will be supported by Rudman, who is the UK's

number one Bob Skeleton athlete and a hot favourite to pick up gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver this time next year.

The Young Blades initiative, now in its fifth year, was first launched by champion hurdler Colin Jackson with the aim of providing financial support for talented young athletes.

Other mentors have included John Terry, the Chelsea and England footballer.

Garnett said: "I am delighted and honoured to have been chosen as one of this year's Young Blades.

"Having an Olympic athlete like Shelley mentoring me will provide a real injection into my hopes of competing in the 2012 Olympics."

Rudman added: "This is a great initiative. From personal experience I know howhard it can be to raise funds and get support when also having to train and compete.

"I'm really pleased to be involved with the programme and look forward to helping Alex achieve his goals."