DOUBLE Olympic rowing champion Alex Gregory received a rousing Lake District welcome on a visit he made to St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School in Windermere.

The six foot, six inch tall athlete, who won gold medals at the games in London and Rio, was overwhelmed by the response he received from excited pupils.

The week had been spent preparing for the visit of the five times world champion. Youngsters had been looking at inspirational people, goals and targets and every child wore a gold medal they had made with their dream or aspirational person on it.

And the whole school was set a challenge: to row the distance of the English Channel throughout the day on a rowing machine. The final leg was completed by headteacher Peter Harrison and Alex.

Children quizzed Alex about his training regime, triumphs and the injuries he sustained in training and competition.

Afterwards Alex sent a message back to the school which read: “Superb afternoon with everyone from St Cuthbert's. What a great school. Hundreds of brilliant questions and very impressive rowing!”