Seven Olympic and Paralympic athletes with Peterborough roots

By: PA Wire

1 Louis Smith

Louis Smith was born in Peterborough in 1989, attending Arthur Mellows Village College and training at Huntingdon Gymnastics Club.

He won medals at three consecutive Olympic Games, including a silver for pommel horse at London 2012. Although he received the same score as Hungary's gold medal winner, Smith lost out due to having a lower execution score.

He also won a bronze medal for the team event in 2012, a bronze in pommel horse at Beijing 2008 and a silver in pommel horse at Rio 2016.

Smith's gold medals came in the Melbourne 2006 and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games, and the 2015 European Championships.

He won Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 and has appeared in a number of stage productions, both touring and in the West End.

2 Julian Robertson

Julian Robertson was born in Peterborough in 1969 and is a former badminton player, competing for Great Britain at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.

Although Robertson never won an Olympic medal, he won two bronze medals at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and a silver and a bronze at the 1998 European Championships.

He was once ranked number eight in the world in men's badminton and now works as an acclaimed national badminton coach.

3 Arthur Robertson

Although credited as a Scottish athlete, Arthur James Robertson moved to Peterborough when he was 14, attending the King's School - where he won the one mile race in a record time.

Robertson started his sporting career as a cyclist, but an accident when he was 25 turned his attention to running.

He earned a spot to compete at the London Olympics... but not the one most of us will remember - Robertson took home a gold and a silver medal from the 1908 London games, winning the three-mile team race and placing second in the 3,200m steeplechase.

In 1909 he retired from athletics and returned to cycling.

Later in his life he settled in Peterborough and opened a sports shop with his brother.

By PA Wire

4 Lauren Steadman

Lauren Steadman was born in Peterborough in 1992 and has competed at three Paralympic games in both swimming and triathlon.

She was born missing her lower right arm but relishes the chance to overcome barriers and "prove that disability sport can keep pushing boundaries".

She took home a silver medal in Rio in 2016 and has found success in the World and European Championships for triathlon, but also boasts World and European swimming medals.

As well as sporting achievements, Steadman also made the semi-final of Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 - and she'll be in Tokyo to go for gold.

5 Brian Brinkley

Born in Peterborough in 1953, Brian Brinkley is a former Olympic swimmer who took home a bronze medal from the Montreal 1976 Games.

His first Olympics was four years earlier, in Munich, but his best finish there was a fifth place in the 400m Freestyle race.

In 1976, Brinkley and his teammates medalled in the 4x100m Freestyle Relay, standing on the third step of the podium.

Brinkley also has a gold medal from the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games and silver medals from both the 1975 World and European Championships.

He attended Nene Park Academy as a pupil, back when it was known as Orton Longueville School.

6 Andrew Johns

Born in Peterborough in 1973, Andrew Johns competed in the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics.

Although medals weren't to be at the Olympic Games, Johns does have two European Championship golds and two World Cup Championship golds to his name.

By PA Wire

7 James Fox

James Fox was born in Peterborough in 1992 and started rowing at Peterborough City Rowing Club when he was 11.

His congenital ankle condition means he competes in the PR3 rowing classification for the mixed coxed four team.

Fox and his teammates took gold at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and have been unbeaten at the World Championships since 2013.

He is returning to defend his title in Tokyo.