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Congratulations go to the British Army soldiers who competed in Athens at the 2004 Olympics; Private Audu, Private Duah, Lance Corporal Thomas, Corporal Thomas, Captain Fordham and Lieutenant Bourne Taylor. The soldiers competed in three different sports (athletics, hockey and rowing) representing Great Britain and three foreign and commonwealth countries: Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
23 year-old Private Musa Audu of 3 (CS) Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, helped Nigeria win bronze in the 4 x 400 metre relay final. The Nigerian team finished third behind America who took gold in a time of 2 minutes 55.91 seconds and Australia. Private Audu is Nigeria’s first junior athlete to compete at the Olympics. He previously represented Nigeria in the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games and the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris.
Army doctor, Captain Guy Fordham helped Great Britain secure ninth place in the Olympic hockey tournament after beating South Africa in a penalty shoot out. Captain Fordham, currently based at ATR Pirbright is one of Britain’s most experienced international hockey players, having also attended the 2000 Olympics.
Lieutenant Robin Bourne Taylor of the Oxford University Officer Training Corps and the current Oxford University Boat Club President was part of Great Britain’s Men’s Eight that secured ninth place in the rowing final. After graduating he plans to go to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to become an Army officer.
Meanwhile, former Army Sergeant and Physical Training Instructor (PTI), Kelly Holmes secured a place in Olympic history by winning both the 800m and 1500m. Her success makes her the first Briton to win both Olympic middle distance events for 84 years, when Albert Hill won both events in 1920. She is only the third woman to have achieved the middle-distance double in the history of the Olympic Games.
Sport and adventure training are a fundamental part of Army life. Soldiers must be alert, physically fit, robust, confident, able to react quickly to the unexpected and able to operate in extreme climates under extreme conditions. Sport at all levels improves such qualities.
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