Over 100,000 children from schools across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland took part in this year’s Olympic Day celebrations through a brand-new partnership between the Team GB Foundation and The Daily Mile Foundation.
Held on the 23rd June each year, Olympic Day is an annual worldwide celebration of the Olympic Movement, aiming to motivate and empower young people to embrace sport, physical activity, and the Olympic Values of friendship, excellence and respect. This Olympic Day, the Team GB Foundation joined forces with The Daily Mile Foundation and junior parkrun to encourage even more children and young people to get moving.
The Daily Mile is an initiative that supports schools in getting children active for 15 minutes each day, be it running, wheeling, or walking with their friends as part of the school day. Today [Monday 23rd June] saw over 100,000 children from 439 schools across the nation taking part in an Olympic Day Daily Mile, with many getting the opportunity to do so alongside a Team GB athlete.
Among the athletes visiting schools was three-time Olympic and World Champion Max Whitlock, recently named as the Team GB Foundation’s first ambassador, who visited a school in the northwest of Manchester. He was joined by Team GB long jumper Abigail Irozuru, who was born and raised in the city and has recently been elected Vice Chair of Team GB’s Athletes’ Commission. Max and Abigail met with pupils, shared their own stories of how being active has supported their wellbeing throughout their careers, and took part in the Daily Mile themselves.
Max Whitlock, Team GB Foundation ambassador, said: “Seeing how much energy and excitement the children put into celebrating Olympic Day today was a brilliant reminder of how important it is to just move and have fun. You don’t have to be an athlete to feel the benefits of being active – we want to help kids across the country build great habits for life and show them how getting moving can help make them healthier and happier.”
Sunday 22nd June saw Olympic Day themed junior parkruns taking place across the country for the second year running, following a successful partnership launch in 2024. Athletes made surprise appearances at a selection of these events to help inspire local participants, including Olympic Champion Kate French in Kent and Paris 2024 bronze medallist Lewis Richardson in Colchester.
Jen Rouse, Managing Director of the Team GB Foundation, said: “Olympic Day is such a powerful reminder of what sport can do: it builds confidence, resilience, and a real sense of belonging. At the Team GB Foundation we harness the power of the Olympic Games, the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Values to support the health and wellbeing of young people across the UK, and teaming up with both the Daily Mile and junior parkrun has been a brilliant way for us to help even more children feel inspired to get active and build a lifelong connection to sport.”
Gordon Banks, Global Director of The Daily Mile, said: “It’s a joy to see so many children across the UK getting active together on Olympic Day through The Daily Mile. Our mission is simple: to help every child enjoy the benefits of regular physical activity, no matter their background, ability or fitness level. Events like this highlight how something as small as 15 minutes of daily movement can have a transformational impact on children’s wellbeing and classroom experience.”
Image courtesy of TeamGB
