THE sporting prowess of our Olympians has been watched around the world.

Arriving to a heroes welcome, Britain's sports men and women who between them garnered 67 medals, 27 golds and sufficient to put the country second behind the USA on the medal table, touched down at Heathrow in the gold-nosed British Airways Boeing 747 with "victoRIOus" emblazoned on the side eager to catch up with family and friends who have supported them throughout their careers.

Not only have they made their supporters proud, they have made their nation proud and their success has instilled an incentive in many people, particularly young ones, to participate in sport and hopefully, one day emulate their the achievements of their role models, the likes of Horsforth's triathlon champions, brothers Alistair and Johnny Brownlee.

Then there is Leeds boxer, Nicola Adams, the first woman to win an Olympic boxing title in 2012 and 2016 who retained her gold medal in the flyweight division following her performance at the Rio Olympics.

Just over 35 per cent of British athletes who went to Rio returned with a medal - including every single track cycling member.

And the legacy is living on... especially here in Bradford where many of the elite athletes already have connections.

Olympic diving coaches, Adrian Hinchliffe and Andy Banks were diving development officers in Bradford; the aforementioned Nicola Adams trained at the Bradford Police and College Academy Boxing Club and the Brownlee Brothers, who attended Bradford Grammar School, trained with the Bingley Harriers - a club Zuby Hamar is more than familiar with.

For Zuby, senior manager for sport and physical activity development across the Bradford district, the club helped her develop her running career.

As a schoolgirl, Zuby ran for the club participating in the 800, 1500 and cross country. She played sports too, tennis, netball, rounders and played hockey for the North of England.

Sport continues to play an integral part in her life and career. "I really enjoy it and love it, it's been my passion and my life," says Zuby, who is now passing on her love of sport to others through the many initiatives in Bradford including the B Active campaign.

Launched a decade ago, B Active is aimed at encouraging more people to lead healthy lifestyles. "I think that sport and physical activity is so important to peoples lives to ensure we are healthy and active and, therefore, we have an active life as well," says Zuby.

Inspired by the success of our Olympians -we also have to look forward to Bradford paralympian Coral Batey's performance in wheelchair rugby - many people have been prompted to participate in sport - and there are plenty of opportunities out there according to Zuby.

"There is a lot of enrichment in Bradford and a lot of opportunity. We have a wide range of people who are very involved and committed in sport right at the grass roots level and right through to the elite level.

"It is very thrilling and exciting."

"I believe we provide a wide range of sport and physical activity opportunities by Bradford Council and, more importantly, we don't do this on our own," says Zuby, referring to the collaborative work with partners such as Active Bradford, a local network for sport including the professional clubs such as Bradford City, Bradford Bulls, Bradford College and the University of Bradford.

They also work alongside 600 sports clubs and associations throughout the district.

Zuby also talks of the inter-school competitions which are encouraging children and young people into competitive sport.

This year 2,500 children and young people participated in the Bradford school games incorporating 41 events across 25 sports.

Zuby says the Government's Primary PE and Sport premium granted to schools is providing pupils with more opportunities to access a greater variety of sport. Every primary school receives approximately £8,000 per year to spend on improving and increasing PE and sport equating to more than £1.5 million of investment across the city.

And the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of sport is also open to students with disabilities through initiatives such as the bike hubs offering adapted bikes for riders of varying abilities.

"For me, I think with the Olympics and the exceptional performance by the GB team has inspired the whole of the nation and Bradford and its community."

Zuby says to hear the Olympians talking about their careers in sport gives us all an insight into the level of hard work and commitment involved in their deserved success and, hopefully, will inspire more people to follow suit into a sporting career in future.