Richly Deserved Recognition for Bedford Borough’s Own Olympic Role Model

Earlier this week I had the honour of presenting Bedford's very own London 2012 Olympic Gold medallist Etienne Stott with the Honorary Freedom of the Borough. This is the highest honour that can be bestowed by the Council, and it is richly deserved recognition for Etienne. Not only did he thrill us all with his performance at the Olympics with Tim Baillie in the C2 Canoe Slalom, which stood out even amongst a long list of memorable sporting moments in 2012, but he has also shown himself to be a fantastic ambassador for Bedford Borough and a genuine role model.

I met Etienne prior to his Olympic Triumph earlier in the year, at the opening of the new facilities for canoeing and kayaking at Duckmill Weir (now called the Etienne Stott Whitewater Arena), and I was struck then by his passion for encouraging young people to enjoy sport and his belief in the importance of giving everyone the best possible opportunities to do so. Since London 2012, Etienne has given his time incredibly generously to the Borough, supporting numerous community events and undertaking as many local schools visits as he possibly can.

On the day of the Olympic Homecoming Parade in Bedford in September, Etienne took the time to make sure everyone who wanted to talk to him, to have a close look at his gold medal or to have a photo taken was able to do so. He made everyone who turned out feel like the whole community shared in his triumph.

The small ceremony on Monday was made more special by the fact that the intimate gathering included a number of people who had helped Etienne on his way here in Bedford, including former teachers, representatives of his Scout group and a number of representatives from the Viking Kayak Club. And, of course, his very proud Mum and Dad were in attendance, and were presented with their own framed copy of the 'Deed of Conferment' of the Honorary Freedom for Etienne. The photo here shows Mike and Suzanne Stott holding that framed deed, alongside Etienne and I shortly after the presentation.

ITV Anglia News reported from the ceremony, including comments from Etienne and Suzanne and Mike, and their short piece is still available to view here: http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/update/2012-12-10/freedom-of-borough-for-etienne-stott/

Etienne spoke about the efforts of people who have supported him through the years, and about the importance of inspiring people of all ages to pursue new activities, and not just sporting ones.

It feels fitting that I should end this post with another link, to Viking Kayak Club's website, where you will find contact details and information about how to get involved if you're interested in finding out more: www.vikingkayak.co.uk