At the leisure centre’s opening day event on Saturday (16 March), Deputy Mayor of Crawley, Councillor Tahira Rana, and Cabinet member for Wellbeing, Councillor Chris Mullins unveiled the feature wall to invited VIPs.

• Steve Arneil, karate
• Nick Buckfield, pole vault
• Paulo Da Silva, Muay Thai
• Sharron Davies MBE, swimming
• Katie-George Dunlevy, cycling
• Sally Gunnell OBE, hurdles
• Mick Jones, hammer throw
• Jade Lally, discuss
• Mick Leigh, judo
• Alan Minter, boxing
• Gareth Southgate OBE, football
• Daley Thompson CBE, decathlon
• Zara Williams, swimming

 Each sporting hero is presented on the wall with a graphical portrait and information plaque, outlining their career highlights.

They have all been held up against a set criteria: outstanding contribution to their sport, namely coaches achieving great success at elite level or sportspeople creating iconic moments.

Councillor Chris Mullins said:

“Crawley has a rich sporting history and our feature is a great way of highlighting the achievements of our sportspeople. We hope the “wall of fame” at K2 Crawley will inspire the next generation to give sport a try and inform people of the successes that have come out of Crawley.

We understand that we may not have represented everyone in this initial stage but we plan to keep adding to the wall, so if you have any sporting suggestions – let us know!”

Gareth Southgate OBE, manager of the England national football team, said:

“Crawley has a proud sporting tradition and produces a great number of sportsmen and women who compete nationally and internationally. 

“Underpinning these achievements, many Crawley residents are actively engaged as coaches, volunteers, participants, administrators and spectators. I am proud to have grown up in Crawley where sport plays such an important role in the local community. “

Katie-George Dunlevy, Paralympic cyclist, said:

“Sport not only gave me a life beyond my wildest dreams but it has also saved it. I was diagnosed visually impaired at aged 11 with a progressive degenerative eye condition and faced with a potentially bleak future. However, when I found sport, I found a passion and a drive to be the best I could possibly be.

“Living and training in and around Crawley all my life, I work extremely hard and K2 Crawley is where I do a lot of my work towards becoming the current Paralympic and World Champion that I am. I now travel the world doing what I do. I am immensely proud, as are my family and the sporting community in Crawley.”

If you want to make suggestions for the next phase of selection, email communications@crawley.gov.uk

Every nomination will be considered against the criteria.