Olympic Gold medallist Tessa Sanderson CBE received yet another feather in her cap when she was inducted to the England Athletics Hall of Fame.

Sanderson was formally inducted into the Hall of Fame in a glittering event at the Birmingham NEC Hilton.

The acknowledgement delighted Sanderson who is the driving force behind the Newham-based Tessa Sanderson Foundation and Academy, an organisation that assists young people by introducing them to a healthier lifestyle through physical activity.

The foundation is housed at the Stratford branch of the Newham College of Education and it’s activities include table tennis, athletics, judo, archery and tennis, which Sanderson believes offers much-needed opportunities.

“It is nice to be inducted and recognised for my achievements,” she said. “It is not just for a specialised event, but for my work in several areas,” Sanderson said.

“My foundation is one of the main things. It gives members the chance to better themselves and gives them an overall package to inspire them to find a direction.”

Jamaica-born Sanderson, who moved to the UK when she was eight-years-old, has plenty of experience to draw upon following a glittering career which was highlighted by her performance at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where she became the first ever Brit to bag a throwing gold medal.

The gold medal was just reward for her tenacity and of her will to succeed and marked a massive improvement in the previous two Olympic Games, in Montreal and Moscow.

She produced a superb performance at the 1984 Games as her phenomenal throw of 69.56m proved to be unsurpassed, as she secured her name into the record books.

She also managed three Commonwealth Gold medals, with perhaps the best in 1986 in Edinburgh, when she bettered her Olympic throw to register 69.80 metres to take a magnificent gold.

Her phenomenal success at the highest level remains fresh in the mind of the now 59-year-old, who is intent on harnessing that knowledge to help others.

“It is 28 years since I won my gold medal in Los Angeles and overall I have been involved in sport for 40 years and my aim is to get more people involved,” said Sanderson, who is a former vice-chairman of Sport England.

The Tessa Sanderson Foundation and Academy was founded in 2009 and offers a programme to develop life skills, mentoring and monitoring of young people both physically and mentally.

The Foundation and Academy work in partnership to provide funding, care, advice, goods or assistance to communities, individuals or others who need support.

“Next, I want to start to work with the obesity factor and show the benefits of a more active and healthier lifestyle,” she said.

“The future of the foundation is to help people to become more active. We also offer mentoring where our coaches look closely at the people they are working with which can also involve parents.

“People are free to call any time. A healthier lifestyle can be a big confidence booster.

“We have over 80 members now and hope to have 100 by next year. We are building under a banner of different sports. Yes, it is great to run and jump, but education is a factor and self-respect is taught too.”

With a winner like Tessa Sanderson at the helm, the youngsters of Newham had better get ready.