You never know who you might run into at one of our leisure centres.
Pay a visit to Killamarsh Active and you might find yourself training alongside a future Olympic star!
For Marathon runner and leisure centre user Calli Hauger-Thackery has qualified for the Olympics for the very first time, fulfilling the dream she’s had since she was a young girl.
Calli (31), said: “It was always a dream. Always what I aimed to do.
“I’ve trained my whole life. I’m really devoted to doing it. When I put my mind to it I’m relentless!
“It’s been a journey, there have been ups and downs. It hasn’t all been rainbows and sunshine.
“Deep down I knew I was going to get there (the Olympics). But you’ve got to believe you can do it.”
In-between races and her punishing training schedule, Calli likes to spend some time at Killamarsh Active – a place she’s all too familiar with, after working at the centre as a teenager when it was Killamarsh Sports Centre.
Calli said: “It was an amazing job at the time, because of the team I worked with. They were very supportive of my running journey and I’m very, very thankful of my time there.
“There are some familiar faces still there, which is nice to see. I love the community there.”
Calli’s win at the McKirdy Micro on the Cusp Marathon in New York last year, secured her a place on Team GB.
Running is very much in the blood for the Thackery family. Her mum was a sprinter and her dad was a professional long distance runner.
Calli will be entering the Olympics on a high, after winning individual half-marathon bronze at June’s European Athletics Championships in Rome and leading Britain to half-marathon team gold!
She’ll be heading to Paris around ten days before the Olympics start with her family and friends there for support.
Darren Ward, Centre Manager for Eckington Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre and Killamarsh Active, said: “It’s great that Calli remembers her time at the sports centre so fondly and is enjoying the fantastic facilities we now have at Killamarsh Active.
“We’ll all be cheering her on when she competes in the Olympics.”
The Olympics takes place from 26 July – 11 August.
The women’s marathon will take place on the competition’s final day, just a few hours before the closing ceremony.
- Have you seen the facilities we have at Killamarsh Active? Find out more about our state-of the-art gym, sports hall, squash and badminton courts, soft play and café or better still, pop in and pay us a visit in person!
Photo courtesy of James Rhodes