Former England goalkeeper David Seaman has performed another remarkable save - by throwing his support behind ice skating partnership Christopher Boyadji and Zoe Jones as they aim for Olympic glory.
David and his wife Frankie - who met while taking part in the Dancing On Ice TV show - are friends of the duo, having met them at a recent ice skating charity event in Oxford.
David explained: “I was really surprised that there was not enough money for them to achieve what they wanted. We would think that the country was behind them and that is why we got involved.”
His wife Frankie, a professional skater, added: “They are the current British senior pairs champions - the best in the country at the moment so we felt that we needed to give them our support to do the best they can do. I think Zoe is a remarkable role model for our sport."
Christopher Boyadji and Zoe Jones have launched a fundraising bid to support them as they take part in the World Figure Skating Championships in Finland at the end of the month - which they hope will be their springboard to qualifying for the Winter Olympic games.
Christopher explained that the £2,000 donation would be put towards covering training and other associated costs such as costume and travel.
“We are doing everything that we can to raise the money that we need to be able to compete. We have had donations from members of the public on our just giving page and I even has a donations bucket next to me while I work at the coffee shop at the Link Centre and people have been really kind and donated.
Zoe added: “It all helps and I can’t tell you how grateful we are. It means that we can spend more time in training with our coach Mark Naylor. This donation from David and Frankie is great because it means that we will definitely have enough to compete at the world championships, we obviously need all the support we can get so that we can go forward to represent England at the Olympics.”
Zoe was the British Champion in 2000 and 2001 in the British Senior Ladies event. After that, she decided to retire and moved to Canada to coach and build a family. Zoe, 37, is now a single mother of three children and she just returned to skating after 13 years in retirement.
As a singles skater Christopher, who was born in France, represented his country at five ISU Junior Grand Prix events and the 2009 Winter Universiade.
The pair, who teamed up in June, have set up a crowdfunding page to support their efforts www.gofundme.com/JonesBoyadji
Anyone interested in sponsoring the pair should get in touch via Facebook by searching for Zoe Jones and Christopher Boyadji.
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