Dwayne delighted as Britain take bronze at Youth Olympic Festival
BRISTOL basketball player Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye hopes the rest of the world sat up and took note as he helped Great Britain climb the Australian Youth Olympic Festival podium.
After Lautier-Ogunleye and his British team-mates opened up their 3x3 basketball assault with three-straight wins on Thursday, it looked like only Mother Nature was going to stop them.
With record-breaking temperatures in Sydney soaring past 45 degrees Celsius, Friday's play was suspended for health reasons and rescheduled for the Saturday.
This delay seemed to derail the team's momentum and, after losing their semi-final to Australia 19-16, Lautier-Ogunleye and co faced off against China in the bronze-medal match.
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However they came through to claim a 19-15 win for bronze, something Lautier-Ogunleye hopes improves Britain's standing in the sport when it comes to international competition.
"I am delighted to have been able to help Great Britain win bronze, it is a fantastic feeling," said the 18-year-old – who plays for the Bristol Academy Flyers.
"To lose like we did against Australia was tough to take, but to come back the way we did against China and leave with a medal was brilliant. The target heading into the competition was to win a medal and, although we knew it would be tough, we were determined and it paid off in the end."
There was more bronze-medal joy for Bristol as the Festival came to a close with Lily Owsley and Britain's women's hockey team squeezing past USA 2-1 in extra-time to finish third.
Just 24 hours earlier they had beaten the same team 5-0, but Owsley didn't mind that they were made to work harder for the bronze medal.
"It feels great to have the bronze medal around my neck," said Owsley. "We won 5-0 the game before and had the same tactics but it was tougher and we didn't play as well. It was an ugly win, but all that matters is we got there in the end and it feels amazing."
Lloyds TSB Local Heroes, in partnership with SportsAid, has supported 1,000 of Britain's most talented developing athletes. As part of Lloyds TSB's commitment to helping future sports stars prosper, the programme will continue in 2013. Follow future stars at facebook.com/lloydstsblocalheroes
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