Javelin thrower Leslie Copeland and his coach James Goulding will spend five weeks training in Preston at UCLan Sport Arena and utilising staff expertise. The visit is part of an agreement between the Oceania National Olympic Committees and the North West Development Agency to bring athletes from five Oceanic countries to the region to train for the Games.

Copeland has high hopes of being the first Fijian to bring home an Olympic medal and during his visit he has worked with a UCLan MA Sports Coaching student in using video analysis to assess his training. He has also received mentoring from UCLan’s elite coach John Trower.

The 22-year-old Fijian said: “We’ve been really impressed with UCLan’s facilities. Having access to video analysis equipment is useful and training like this can provide the edge over other athletes. I’ve really benefited from the expertise of John Trower and the advice he’s given to me.”

Trower provides elite coach mentoring for the UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC) Level 4 Course at UCLan and previously coached Olympic medallist javelin thrower Steve Backley.

He said: “It has been a major coup in securing the presence of the Pacific Island athletes in Preston. The staff at the University are first class in all areas of support from coaching to logistics and the facilities in Preston are excellent across a wide spectrum of sports.

“The quality of these facilities was a key factor in the decision making process in choosing Preston as the location for a preparation camp prior to the Games.”

Copeland will return to Preston with Goulding in 2011 and then 2012 to acclimatise and prepare for London 2012.