Olympic winner snaps up souvenir book (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Olympic winner snaps up souvenir book

11:00am Friday 19th October 2012 in News By James Tourgout

GOLD medallist Helena Lucas snapped up a copy of a special Olympics and Paralympics souvenir book.

The Paralympic star, who sailed to victory at the London 2012 Games, said photographs in When the World came to Weymouth looked brilliant.

Helena said that the glossy souvenir publication – from the Bridport and Lyme Regis News and the Dorset Echo – brought back a lot of nice memories.

Helena made history as the first Briton to ever claim a gold Paralympic medal in the sport of sailing and beat all her male rivals in the 16-boat 2.4mR keelboat fleet to do so.

The 37-year-old, who lives in Fortuneswell, Portland, with her husband Steve Thomas, said she would treasure her copy of When the World came to Weymouth along with her other mementos from the home Games.

She said: “It’s brilliant actually, really good.

“The photos look brilliant. They bring back a lot of really nice memories from the Games.”

Helena was able to soak up the Olympic atmosphere in Weymouth and Portland in a break in training ahead of the Paralympic sailing competition.

She said: “It helped with the surrealness of living here and it being the home Games, getting used to the fact a massive event was on so by the time I got to the Paralympics it felt like second nature.

“It was great to go out and watch some of the racing and to be slightly involved, seeing how the team was getting on.”

Recently, Helena has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2012 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award, while her British Olympic teammate Ben Ainslie is in the running in the men’s category.

Dorset Echo and Bridport News editor Toby Granville praised Helena for her achievements and said he was delighted she had enjoyed the new publication.

He added: “Our photographers captured so many great shots of the Olympic and Paralympic festivities in Weymouth and Portland that we wanted to showcase the images and celebrate this unique summer in local history.

“We hope our readers will enjoy reliving the time when the eyes of the world were on our borough, when crowds gathered to watch the British sailing team compete for glory on local waters and the Maritime Mix Cultural Olympiad by the Sea brought a wealth of music, dance, drama and art to the south coast.”

When the World came to Weymouth is a high-quality glossy covered publication that costs £3.95.

The photographic souvenir is available to buy at the Brid-port News office in East Street now.