Olympic silver medallist visits Lord's to boost London's 2012 Olympic bid

Date released: 24 November 2004

Frances Houghton - a silver medallist at this summer's Athens Olympics - has visited Lord's to boost London's bid to host the Games in 2012. During her visit, she met around 75 sports-loving students from higher education colleges and universities across London and shared her experiences from Athens, where she won her medal for rowing.

Frances encouraged the students to play their part in bringing the Olympics to London and urged them to compete at the highest possible level, with the aim of winning medals during the 2012 Games - ideally in London.

If London's Olympic bid is successful, the archery competition would be staged at Lord's.

Frances Houghton - a former student at King's College, London - said: "I look back on my time as a student in London with great fondness. Many of London’s colleges and universities have great sporting traditions and represent a fantastic opportunity for participation in sport. I am thankful that I had the support of my college while I was training and competing. I am delighted that London students have come together at Lord's to support the capital's bid."

MCC's Secretary & Chief Executive, Roger Knight, added: "It was a great pleasure to welcome everyone to Lord's - the home of cricket. We would love the Ground to be the home of Olympic archery in 2012. I have every confidence in London's ability to attract the Olympics. The bid offers a tremendously strong combination of established and iconic sporting venues, like Lord's and Wimbledon, and outstanding new facilities in east London - which would be great for both the competitors and for urban regeneration in the capital. MCC's commitment to continuous investment and improvement - including the current £8 million Pavilion refurbishment project - means that Lord's would be both a world-famous and a world-class venue for the archery in a London Olympics."