Leigh Lennon has been selected to take part in an ‘On Camp with Kelly’ Educational Camp at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

The 19-year-old Ribble Valley Athletic Club member from Accrington is one of eight talented British middle distance athletes, who are part of the Aviva-sponsored ‘On Camp with Kelly’ (OCWK) mentoring and education initiative, to have been chosen for the trip to India.

The initiative, which has been supported by Aviva since 2004, is giving the young athletes the unique opportunity to experience this Commonwealth Games as part of their preparations for London 2012, Glasgow 2014 and future championships.

As well as benefiting from a ‘behind the scenes’ view of the Games with a visit to the Athletes’ Village, the OCWK stars will experience the athletics action in the stadium and have the opportunity to see other OCWK athletes in action.

Aviva’s sponsorship has also made it possible for these talented young athletes to team up with their mentor to provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for some of India’s young athletes to take part in a training master class and inspire the next generation of Indian middle distance runners.

Dame Kelly has always championed the importance of experiencing global sporting events first hand as part of an athlete’s education.

Rising 1500m star and OCWK athlete Hannah England, who has been selected to represent England in Delhi, was selected for a similar camp at the 2006 Games in Melbourne which has helped take her career to the next level.

England will be taking part in the 800m as well as the 1500m while three more OCWK athletes, Andrew Osagie in the men’s 800m, Emma Jackson in the women’s 800m), and Charlotte Purdue in the 5000m and 10,000m, have all been selected to run for England at the Commonwealth Games in India.

The Commonwealth Games has certainly been an impor-tant event in Dame Kelly’s remarkable career as she recorded her first major international title in the 1500m at the 1994 Games and added another gold in Manchester in 2002, before her legendary double gold performance at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

She is now president of Commonwealth Games England.

Dame Kelly said: “The Aviva-sponsored ‘On Camp with Kelly’ camp in Delhi will be a unique opportunity for the athletes to get behind the scenes experience at a major multi-sport event which will stand them in good stead for competing in major events in the future.

“They all have their eyes on the Olympics in London in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. “I am looking forward to passing on my experiences of the Commonwealths to the group as well as supporting the OCWK athletes compet-ing in the stadium.”

For more information about ‘On Camp with Kelly’ and latest news and updates go to www.oncampwithkelly.co.uk.

To follow the athletes’ progress, become a fan on Facebook at facebook.com/avivaathletics.