Athletes show off new Lilleshall facilities

Top British athletes with an eye on the London 2012 Olympics are to showcase new multi-million pound facilities at Lilleshall National Sports Centre today.

County archer Alison Williamson, a bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Games, was at Lilleshall to make use of £3.5 million of technology upgrades designed to help British athletes in the run-up to the 2012 games.

Leading gymnasts Beth Tweddle and Louis Smith, who train at the county venue, are already making use of the facilities, which officials hope will help a host of athletes strike gold in two years time.

The new equipment at Lilleshall, which will be a base for athletes during the Games, will help the country's top archers, gymnasts and hockey players with their training.

Minister for Sport Hugh Robertson MP was also due at the county venue to see behind the scenes of sport science performance programmes set up at the centre.

And biomechanist Oliver Logan will showcase how a high-speed camera and feedback system introduced at Lilleshall can help athletes with injury prevention.

Sport England, GB Archery, British Gymnastics and the English Institute of Sport have joined forces to produce the upgrade in facilities.