Gold-winner’s green gong: Rower gets climate award from Olympic chiefs

Olympic gold medalist Imogen Grant has won an environmental award given by the International Olympic Committee.The Cambridge rower started her first job as a doctor just days after she won gold in the lightweight women’s double sculls with teammate Emily Craig in Paris this summer.
Now she’s been rewarded by the IOC for her efforts to help address climate change and make sport more sustainable.
She is one of just two athletes to receive the award this year – the other being Bulgarian beach volleyball player Lina Taylor.
Dr Grant has been honoured for her role in the launch of the Clean Water Sport Alliance to improve river health and water quality.
She has been instrumental in introducing new measures to help British Rowing’s National Training Centre in Caversham operate more sustainably, including composting of food waste, the recycling of plastic waste and the regular testing of water quality.
She said: “Sport is such a team effort, and so is sustainability. I am so grateful to the amazing people and organisations who have helped me speak up and use my athlete’s voice for more than just sport. I hope to continue inspiring others to take action, both on and off the field of play.”
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “This year’s winners of the IOC Climate Action Awards show the Olympic Movement is taking its responsibilities seriously: reducing our impact, while inspiring others to take action.
“We congratulate the winners for their innovative and impactful projects that are making the world of sport more sustainable. We hope these efforts inspire others – in sport and beyond – to join the collective effort to address one of the toughest challenges our world is facing today.”
The environment isn’t the only area which can benefit from sport.
Speaking at the Labour conference in Liverpool last week, Dr Grant said sport is a “miracle cure” that can “transform” people’s lives and communities.
She said: “Too many people are like me. They think sport isn’t for them for one reason or another.
“Maybe they try the sports that are available in their schools or their local clubs and it just doesn’t quite light that spark. For some it’s the cost, the petrol to drive to practice.
“Maybe their nearest facilities are too far away. Maybe the facilities have been run down and there aren’t enough volunteers to coach.
“And for some of them, there isn’t the pathway either. They can’t see what they want to achieve, even if they’re dreaming of it.”
Ms Grant said that she sees unfit patients “every single day” working as a NHS doctor.
She said: “Almost 40% of adults in this country don’t meet the bare minimum standards for physical activity. Just 30 minutes of walking or equivalent, five times a week – almost 40%.
“If physical activity were a drug, it would be called a miracle cure for how effective it is and we need to make sure that that miracle cure is available to as many people, adults and children across the nation.
“So that’s why sport transforms. It’s good for our physical health, it’s good for our mental health, and it’s good for our communities as well.
“It’s why grassroots facilities are so vital to be a place where children and adults can go to do something other than stress or study or work.”