OLYMPIC and World Champion athlete Rebecca Romero MBE was the special guest to official open The King’s School Chester’s new £4.5m Sports Centre.

VIP guests enjoyed a tour of the new facilities, including The Terrace Café, ergo room, gym, and dance studio. They were also invited to the sports centre reception where Rebecca unveiled the official plaque.

Not satisfied with winning an Olympic silver medal for rowing in Athens 2004 and becoming world champion rower two years later, Rebecca took on the extraordinary challenge of concurring a new sport and becoming a double world champion cyclist in 2008.

She then became the first British female athlete in history to win Olympic medals in two different sports, returning to the games as a cyclist to win gold in the individual pursuit in Beijing 2008.

Rebecca delivered an inspirational speech about how, as a young person, she always viewed athletes as superhuman and out of reach. It wasn’t until she was 17 and moved to Kingston where a fellow sportsperson encouraged her to row - a moment she said ‘changed her life’ - that a passion for competing was ignited.

She emphasised the benefits sport can bring, developing skills which enhance your physical and emotional state in order to become a well-rounded individual, and praised King’s commitment to a ‘opportunities for all’ culture which provides an array of sports and activities outside of the more traditional options.

King’s School headteacher George Hartley highlighted how the sports centre will increase provision for all students to get involved in some sort of physical activity not only for health benefits but also life skills such as resilience, leadership and teamwork.

King’s director of sport, Richard Lunn, spoke about how the school strongly believe there is a synergy between being active and achieving success and the new facilities will widen King’s provision and truly offer "sport for all", including the Cheshire community.