Olympians speak about the inspiration of sport ahead of Birmingham 2022

Sir Chris Hoy and Max Whitlock have both enjoyed success in their sporting careers, amassing multiple Olympic, Commonwealth and World gold medals across their respective cycling and gymnastics careers.

Both men have also had the honour of competing in home games, with Sir Chris competing in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, while Max was able to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

They were in the region on Wednesday to take part in a Q&A session and meet the youngsters at Guardian Angels Catholic Primary School, in Birmingham, as part of the Chase Power of Sport poetry competition.

Both men said they thought competitions such as the Power of Sport, which challenged pupils across the country to write about what sport meant to them, were great as they helped bring sport to life for young people.

Sir Chris said: "It's great because of the legacy it brings, such as at this school where kids can be inspired by the new library and be able to get engaged in the poetry and being able to think about sport."

Max said: "I think being here today has been great and going into schools is always an amazing feeling because it can give the kids so much, particularly with the Commonwealth Games coming here, and it's nice to see the passion come out of sport for them."

Sir Chris competed in three Commonwealth Games - in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, Manchester in 2002 and Melbourne in 2006 - winning two gold medals and two bronze medals, and said watching the Games in Edinburgh in 1986 had been the spark for him and he hoped it could be the same for the pupils.

He said: "You can see they are engaged with the Games and are excited about it and you can't underplay how important that is or days like today are as it might be the spark that gets them interested and they really watch the Commonwealth Games.

"I remember the Games coming to Edinburgh in 1986 when I was 10 and I remember just being so excited that this massive event was happening in my home city and I never imagined in a million years that I would part of it, but 12 years later, I was."

Max Whitlock competed in New Delhi in 2010, Glasgow in 2014 and Gold Coast in 2018, winning four gold medals, four silver medals and two bronze medals.

He said the prospect of a home Games for the athletes from Team England was massively important for the experience for them and everyone in the surrounding community.

"From the athletes competing to the children in the local school, the impact is crazy for people involved in sports and Esports, because the Games are a huge multi-sport event," he said.

"It can really encourage people to do something and the power of the sport can be hugely powerful, as it's not just about the sports but about getting the communities involved and getting people inspired."