Redgrave is named ‘2012 Champion’

Five-time gold medal winner Sir Steve Redgrave has been appointed as the Government’s ‘2012 Sports Champion’.

Britain’s most successful Olympian, with six medals, will lead the drive to boost participation in sports during the run up to the London Olympics and will be supported in the role by six other medallists, already working as school sports ambassadors.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown endorsed the move, saying: "Sir Steve Redgrave is exactly the right man to harness the power and reach of the games.

"(He will) help inspire the nation to become more actively involved in sport and help deliver a fantastic legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games once the flame has left London."

Read the BBC’s full story here