Olympic champion Tessa Sanderson relived the moment of her golden throw when she visited Devizes to launch a new sports charity.

Ms Sanderson told the audience in The Bear Hotel on Saturday she was delighted to help launch Bag4Sport Charity Foundation and urged young athletes to go for their dreams.

She said: “Sport is so important in people’s lives and it is vital that financial help is there to make it possible.”

The audience was played a DVD of the moment Ms Sanderson threw the javelin to victory in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

She then gave a personal insight into her feelings of elation as she beat arch British rival Fatima Whitbread to the top spot.

She said: “We both wanted gold but maybe on that day I wanted it a bit more. It was all about staying focused.”

She brought along her cherished gold medal to show the audience.

Andy Trusler, who co-founded Bag4Sport with Jide Ihenacho as a not-for-profit business to raise money for grass root clubs by collecting textiles, explained the new charity would take fundraising to the next level.

He said: “We want to help pay for sports coaching in schools and for clubs, organisations and individuals to come to us if they need help with training costs, equipment and coaching.”

Devizes MP Claire Perry was at the launch and also visited the Bag4Sport headquarters on the Hopton Industrial Estate on Friday to see the charity’s work.

She pledged to back the charity and to push the need for sport in schools at the highest level.

The charity will help Wilt-shire Paralympic swimmer Stephanie Millward, from Corsham, skeleton bob Olym-pic silver medallist Shelley Rudman from Pewsey, young trampoline talent Rhianna Andrew from Devizes and tennis player William Bissett from Poulshot. William, 14, won this year’s Road To Wimbledon national finals.

For more information, visit www.bag4sport.co.uk