Source: Daily_Mail
Olympics2012: I will quit if Spurs get the Olympic Stadium, rages Jean Pickering
Jean Pickering, the widow of legendary athletics coach and commentator Ron, will turn her back on the sport completely if TottenhamHotspur's bid for the Olympic Stadium is accepted. [LNB]'It'll be the last straw for me,' said the woman whose 60-year-plus involvement in track and field has helped put Jessica Ennis and Christine Ohuruogu on the road to world stardom. [LNB]'What would be the point of carrying on if they knocked that wonderful stadium down?' [LNB] Threatening to quit: Jean Pickering (second left) with Lord Sebastian Coe, George Gandy and Shaun Pickering[LNB]Spurs have told the Olympic Park Legacy Committee that, if their bid gets the green light, the club will demolish the ?550million athletics facility and replace it with a purpose-built football ground and an upgraded Crystal Palace track and field stadium.[LNB] That is totally unacceptable to the fund-raiser who, as Jean Desforges, was a member of Britain's winning the European Championships 4x100m relay team in 1950 and four years later won the long jump. [LNB]Jean, 81, added: 'As a little East End kid, I was inspired by pictures of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Those pictures gave me a dream. Then someone saw something in me and I was coached for the first time. Four months later I was in the British team. [LNB]'If you pull that stadium down, who's going to inspire the kids of today? What message does it send them?' [LNB]Legacy plays a major part in the life of Jean, who was made an MBE in 2009 for her athletics charity work. [LNB]After her husband's death in 1991, she founded the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund, dedicated to helping young athletes. [LNB]Earlier this year, the latest round of grants saw the fund pass the ?1m mark since its inception. [LNB]Among those to have benefited are Ennis, Ohuruogu, Mo Farah and Phillips Idowu, while Denise Lewis is one of many to have been helped early in their careers. British star Ennis searches her mind for an edge over her Olympic rivalsOlympic legend Thompson blasts 2012 hypocrites over stadium rowDrug cheat Vesteinn Hafsteinsson invited to help British coachesAll the latest Tottenham news, features and opinion[LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: Jessica Ennis, Denise Lewis, Christine Ohuruogu Places: Olympic Stadium
