Middle distance runner and young Olympian, Benedict Westhenry from Weymouth, was at his local Asda store at the weekend to raise vital funds to ensure he can continue his training, purchase equipment and cover travel costs.
Benedict, 17, is part of the Asda Athletes programme which is partnered with leading sports charity, SportsAid, to provide funding and support to more than 1,300 British athletes.
All athletes are partnered with a local Asda store which gives them an opportunity to raise additional funds in-store to use towards the costs of their sport.
Benedict, who is currently studying for his A-levels, runs in middle distance events and cross country and first represented England in cross country when he was 14 years old. Since then he has competed on behalf of Great Britain at theEuropean Youth Olympic Festival.
As well as fundraising at the Newstead Road store he helped colleagues on the tills by packing bags for customers as well as fundraising for Tickled Pink – Asda’s breast cancer charity – ahead of Breast Care Awareness Month in October.
Benedict said:
“The costs associated with my sport can often be quite expensive so I’m extremely grateful to colleagues at the Newstead Road store for letting me come in this weekend to fundraise.
“The donations from customers will help me to keep up with my training as well as buy equipment and cover competition and travel costs.
“Asda has showed me such great support as its sponsored athlete and I hope to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio as well as take part in the Commonwealth Games.”
Andy Felix, manager at Asda Weymouth, added:
“Over the past four years Asda has given more than £1m to SportsAid athletes. We provide financial and practical support to the next generation of British sporting talent. In doing so, we try to alleviate some of the pressure on parents and guardians, whilst helping the athletes to develop their careers at the same time.
“It’s really important to us that we show our support for Benedict as we not only want out customers to get involved but also the rest of the community.”