Ann Packer's Much Wenlock visit kicks off Olympic year

With its long-established links to the foundation of the Olympic Games, 2012 is going to be a very big year for Much Wenlock.

The town hosted the first ever Olympian Games in 1850, the brainchild of Dr William Penny Brookes, which proved the inspiration for Baron de Coubertin to found the modern Olympic movement. And the town's countdown to the London 2012 Olympic Games has already begun.

Olympic gold medallist Ann Packer put in an appearance in Much Wenlock yesterday in order to start a 60-mile relay run.

• See more pictures in our gallery to your right

Ms Packer, who won gold in the women's 800 metres at the 1964 games in Tokyo, helped start the relay run which started in Much Wenlock and finished in her hometown Congleton in Cheshire.

The team of runners took about eight hours to cover the distance and deliver a scroll to the Cheshire town's mayor as part of the build- up to mark the London 2012 Olympics.

Councillor Lesley Durbin, Mayor of Much Wenlock, joined Ann in starting yesterday's run which was organised by the former athlete, now Ann Brightwell, and her husband Robbie.

Ann, who is heading Team Congleton, was the first British woman to win an Olympic track medal when she won her gold medal in Tokyo.

Her winning time of 2 minutes 1.1 seconds set a new world record at the time.

Brian Hogan, clerk of Congleton Town Council, said today: "We have got a group called Team Congleton and they've been set up to produce a whole variety of events leading up to the Olympic Games next year.

"For the group's first event we thought it would be very appropriate to start off a relay from Much Wenlock where the whole of the modern games movement began."

The scroll, which contained two messages from Much Wenlock, arrived at the town hall in Congleton later on yesterday.

The first message was from former Olympic champion Seb Coe, now Lord Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, wishing Team Congleton all the best with its events next year.

The second was a message of greetings from the Much Wenlock mayor to Congleton's mayor.