Please note that this video is in Russian, with English subtitles.

• A two-time Olympic silver medalist in rowing and a three-time world champion, Flood co-founded Creativity in Sport, a community interest organization giving at-risk youth opportunities to study positive life skills curriculum and work toward fitness teaching qualification. Motivated by a desire to work with troubled youth, she took a year off from rowing in 2009 to qualify as a prison officer.

• Decathlon gold (2008) and silver (2004) medalist, World Indoor and two-time World Outdoor champion, Clay founded the Bryan Clay Foundation in 2005 to help “build champions and change lives,” offering opportunities for children to discover their gifts and talents and develop their character.

Presentation of the Liddell Award is the centerpiece of the More Than Gold Legacy Breakfast, held during the London 2012 Games to celebrate character and influence in the world of sports. In addition to the award presentation, the 400 breakfast guests, including some 120 current and former Olympians, will hear from special guests including Jerry Colangelo, chairman of USA Basketball; Madeline Manning Mims, Olympic gold medalist in track and field; and Gene Davis, Olympic bronze medalist in wrestling. The Legacy Breakfast is scheduled for Friday, 10 August, at Central Hall Westminster.

The Eric Liddell Award is given in memory of Olympian Eric Liddell, who won gold and bronze medals for Great Britain at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Liddell is best known for the portrayal of his Olympic experience in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire. His daughters, Heather Ingham and Patricia Russell, will attend the breakfast to celebrate their father’s legacy of character and service.

“I remember watching Chariots of Fire when I was in ninth grade and what stood out the most to me was Eric Liddell’s unwavering courage to stand up for what he believed to be right. I’m truly humbled and honored to receive an award in his name,” said Clay.

“Eric Liddell was a great man of faith and an example of an ambassador of God both in and outside sport,” added Flood. “God has given me the gifts and abilities that I have and I have tried to use them to the best of my ability while also sharing my faith through how I play my sport on and off the water.”

The Legacy Breakfast is hosted by Athletes in Action, an international sports outreach that uses the medium of sport to help people answer questions of faith. It is in partnership with More Than Gold, the agency set up by all the UK’s main denominations to help churches make the most of the 2012 Games.

More information about the More Than Gold Legacy Breakfast is available at www.legacybreakfast.org.

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The Legacy Breakfast takes place on Friday 10^th August at London’s Westminster Central Hall. The centre piece is the presentation of the Eric Liddell Award to one male and one female Olympian for their outstanding character at home, in their community and on and off the field of competition.

Six finalists for the award were announced today as:

• Bryan Clay, United States, Olympic decathlon gold and silver medalist
• Steph Cook, Great Britain, Olympic modern pentathlon gold medalist
• Debbie Flood, Great Britain, twice Olympic rowing silver medalist
• Brandon Slay, United States, Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist
• Laura Wilkinson, United States, Olympic diving gold medalist
• Nick Willis, New Zealand, Olympic track and field silver medalist

The 400 present are expected to include up to 120 past and present Olympians. Those attending will also hear from special guests Jerry Colangelo, chairman of USA Basketball; Madeline Manning Mims, Olympic gold medalist in track and field; and Gene Davis, Olympic bronze medalist in wrestling. Additional guests will be announced as the event approaches.

The Eric Liddell Award has been established in memory of Olympian Eric Liddell, who won gold and bronze medals for Great Britain at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Liddell is best known for the portrayal of his Olympic experience in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire. Two of his three daughters, Heather Ingham and Patricia Russell, will attend the breakfast to celebrate their father’s legacy of character and service.

Hosting the Legacy Breakfast is Athletes in Action, an international sports outreach that uses the medium of sport to help people answer questions of faith. It is in partnership with More Than Gold, the agency set up by all the UK’s main denominations to help churches make the most of the 2012 Games.

Athletes in Action regularly host similar breakfasts as a way to highlight character and faith. This includes the NFL-sanctioned Super Bowl Breakfast, which they have hosted annually since 1988.

For more information about the Legacy Breakfast, visit www.legacybreakfast.org.

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The award is named for Scottish Olympian Eric Liddell who won gold and bronze medals for Great Britain at the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Liddell, who is best known for the portrayal of his Olympic experience in the movie Chariots of Fire, immediately stood out as an athlete who embodied the spirit of the Legacy Breakfast.

Liddell’s daughters Patricia Russell, Heather Ingham and Maureen Moore were pleased by the request to honour their father’s legacy of faith and service with the award.

“The daughters were very honoured,” AIA staff member Cindy White recalls. “Other organizations tried to use his name before, but [his daughters] didn’t just want his name to be used, they wanted his life to be remembered.”

Liddell’s life is one that event organizers believe should be celebrated. Born in 1902 in Tianjin, China, to Scottish missionaries, Liddell returned to China in 1925 as a missionary rather than training for further competition. By 1941, life in China had become so dangerous that Liddell sent his wife and daughters back to Great Britain. Two years later, he was interned in a Japanese POW camp, where he died in 1945, just four months before the end of World War II. After the war ended, stories of Liddell’s selflessness in starting a school and organizing sporting events for children in the camp began to surface.

“I’m so proud that under the severe pressures of camp life he remained faithful to all his principles. I like to think that he always walked in the light,” reflects Ingham.

“Eric is such a great model for character in sports, as a family man and as a Christian. He’s the type of person to raise up and inspire people to follow his example. His life was well integrated. His faith pervaded all of who he was,” says White.

The More Than Gold Legacy Breakfast will be held on 10 August 2012, at Central Hall Westminster in London. Although the recipients of the Liddell Award have not yet been announced, Russell and Ingham are looking forward to attending the breakfast and seeing their father’s legacy honoured.

“Good character is like a diamond in the rough. We hope that the Legacy Breakfast will place character on display in a way that is attractive and compelling, allowing the audience to see Jesus, the true source of it,” says Athletes in Action president Mark Householder.

The Legacy Breakfast is co-sponsored by Athletes in Action, More Than Gold and Agape UK. To learn more about the breakfast or to purchase tickets, visit http://legacybreakfast.org.

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The beauty and history of the Central Hall made it an easy choice for event organisers, who were looking for a centrally located venue for the breakfast that honours Olympic athletes, coaches and officials for integrity and character both on and off the field of competition.

“The first time I walked into Central Hall Westminster, I knew immediately it was the perfect venue for the More Than Gold Legacy Breakfast. Strategically located in central London, this historical venue speaks volumes and points to the legacy and history of London,” said Legacy Breakfast director Mark LoVellette.

Located next to Westminster Abbey and overlooking Big Ben, Central Hall has hosted a number of significant national and international events in its storied 100-year history. Most notably, it was the location of the very first General Assembly of the United Nations in 1946, and has welcomed British Prime Ministers and members of the British Royal Family over the years. Other well-known guests include: Mahatma Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Sir Winston Churchill.

Central Hall Westminster was opened in 1912 as a memorial hall that would include a church and headquarters for the Wesleyan Methodist Church, in addition to serving as a meeting place open to the public. Funding for the project came from the Wesleyan Methodist Church’s 20^th Century Fund, established to mark the centenary of John Wesley’s death. To this day, Central Hall is known for its strong ties to church and charities in the Westminster area, and is proud to give back to the community through financial support of the St. Vincent’s Family Project, which provides a variety of resources for young families.

The purpose of the Legacy Breakfast is to celebrate and honour Olympic athletes and coaches modelling character and true sportsmanship in all areas of their lives. Well-known athletes who are honoured at the event will share inspiring stories from their lives and Olympic experiences. Over 100 Olympians from various countries are expected to be in attendance.

The Legacy Breakfast is co-sponsored by Athletes in Action, More Than Gold and Agape UK. To learn more about the Legacy Breakfast, visit www.legacybreakfast.org.

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The event will feature well-known Olympic athletes and coaches sharing inspiring stories about successes and failures in sports and in their lives. Special guests will include: Jerry Colangelo, chairman of USA Basketball; Madeline Manning Mims, Olympic gold medalist in track and field; and Gene Davis, Olympic bronze medalist in wrestling. Additional guests will be announced as the event approaches.

“The Legacy Breakfast is an innovative and pioneering event,” says event director Mark LoVellette. “We are excited to provide a venue celebrating true champions: men and women of character, faith, integrity and excellence on the field of competition.”

In addition to hearing from the featured Olympians on-stage at the event, guests will be joined by an Olympian at each table. A total of 120 past and present Olympians are expected to attend the breakfast.

Along with honoured Olympic guests, AIA plans to welcome 400-500 underprivileged children living in London to view the event. Recognizing that most of these children will not have an opportunity to attend Olympic events, breakfast organisers hope that the children will be encouraged and inspired as the Olympians share stories of sport and faith.

Athletes in Action hosts a number of breakfast outreaches at key athletic events each year, including the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Weekend and the Men’s College Basketball Final Four. The Legacy Breakfast marks AIA’s first international event of this nature.

Holding this event in London during the Olympics will create opportunities to reach out in an area where Athletes in Action is not yet present. “We are looking forward to engaging with and serving those in the London business and political communities at this event,” LoVellette says.

“Over the last 25 years we have run over 75 breakfast events at major sporting events here in the United States. But doing this on a global stage is a whole different challenge. The Legacy Breakfast represents a sizeable faith venture, but one worthy of pursuit,” says Householder.

The Legacy Breakfast is co-sponsored by Athletes in Action, More Than Gold and Agape UK. To learn more about the Legacy Breakfast, visit www.legacybreakfast.org.

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