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London 2012 legacy is present in Chile

The activity was carried out at the Juan Bautista Pastene School in Peñalolén, which is one of the most deprived areas of Santiago.

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Girls of Juan Bautista Pastene School.

Girls of Juan Bautista Pastene School.

The British Embassy in Santiago, in conjunction with the organisers of the Santiago 2014 South American Games and the Municipality of Peñalolén, held a sporting activity with Olympic and Paralympic athletes who participated in the London 2012 Games. This event was organised to mark the first anniversary of the Olympic and Paralympic Games held in London between 27 July and 9 September 2012.

The venue was the Juan Bautista Pastene School in Peñalolén, one of the most deprived areas of Santiago. Over 800 students, teachers, ‘Santiago 2014’ volunteers and Government authorities attended presentations by athletes, including table tennis player Cristian Dettoni and gymnast Martina Castro, and listened to an inspiring testimony by paralympic athlete Cristián Valenzuela, who won the gold medal in the 5K paralympic race.

Ambassador Jon Benjamin presented the school with a variety of sports equipment as a reward for its students who, despite their challenging socio-economic backgrounds, have excelled in several sports. Jon Benjamin took the opportunity to acknowledge the UK’s pride in the 2012 Games:

For us, beyond any success in sports, which is also very important, it was wonderful to see that everywhere in the UK – and in London in particular - people worked for so many years to organise the most memorable Games in history, and I am very proud to say that we did it.

This activity took place in the context of the British Embassy Santiago’s work in conjunction with Chilean Government organisations to promote the Santiago 2014 South American Games.

Contact:

For more details about this activity, please contact Pamela Gallardo, London 2012 and GREAT Campaign Officer.

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Updates to this page

Published 13 September 2013