OLYMPIC champion Anita Lonsbrough has made a lasting impression by leaving golden hand and footprints
Anita, who won gold in the 200 metres breaststroke at the 1960 Rome Olympics, had her feet and hands cast for a golden-coloured plaque.
Anita, now Mrs Lonsbrough-Porter, who moved to Huddersfield aged 14, made the special visit to Huddersfield Sport Centre to help launch the National Lottery’s Go For Gold scratchcards.
Anita’s plaque will be one of several commemorative works of sporting champions.
Cash from sales of the scratchcards will go towards the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
Anita, whose achievements also include four Commonwealth Games gold medals, first worked as a treasurer’s office clerk at Huddersfield Town Hall.
Anita, who writes for The Daily Telegraph, was awarded an MBE for services to swimming in 1963.
In 1983 she joined the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Anita, who lives in Wolverhampton, said: "It’s marvellous after these years that I’m still remembered and people want to recognise me still.
"This scratchcard will enable British competitors to train for the Olympics.
"I had the best facilities that were going at the time, but facilities are a lot better now and it’s about the training and water space you can get now.
"I think the new Lottery campaign is marvellous. Anything that brings money into sport is a good thing and the lottery has done a lot, not just in facilities but in helping competitors as well. We need all the money we can for 2012.
"I think Britain will do better than we did in the Athens Olympics of 2004. To equal our best is going to be hard, because that was a gold, a silver and a bronze.
"But I think our swimmers will do well. It’s not just about winning medals, it’s about personal bests.
"And with the lottery cash they’re now getting they’re all able to be full-time athletes, which enables them to train on an equal level with the rest of the world."
