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British Olympians Support #TargetEbola

27 | 11 | 2014

Olympians Joslyn Hoyte-Smith and Lou Collins have thrown their support behind the WOA’s #TargetEbola campaign at a fundraiser for humanitarian sport organisation Right to Play in London.

Double Olympian Hoyte-Smith, who won bronze for Britain in the 4x400m relay at Moscow 1980 and now chairs the UK Olympians Association joined former British 200m champion Collins, who competed at Seoul 1988, for a photo in order to promote #TargetEbola, a campaign which aims to raise money to help stop the spread of Ebola in West Africa.

The two were guests of Right to Play at the Big Red Ball charity event which saw stars from the sporting world join more than 500guests in London to highlight Right to Play's advocacy work building peaceful communities through sport.

Right to Play, an organisation that encapsulates the ideals of Olympism, was founded by Norwegian speed skater and three-time Olympic gold medallist, Johann Olav Koss, following the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games and works to transform the lives of more than one million children every week in over 20 countries across Latin America, Africa and Asia through sport and play.

#TargetEbola was launched last month following an appeal to the WOA from two-time Sierra Leone Olympian Dr Francis Dove Edwin to help raise funds. Since then the WOA has joined forces with Oxfam, a world leader in emergency response, and US-based humanitarian organisation, Medisend International, to deliver much needed supplies to West Africa.

The British Olympians join a growing list of World Olympians already supporting the #TargetEbola campaignincluding six-time Olympic Gold Medallist Usain Bolt, Novak Djokovic, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, Carl Lewis, Sergey Bubka, Claudia Bokel, Hicham el Guerrouj, Koji Murofushi and Pernilla Wiberg as well as a host of famous names from the rugby community.

To get involved visit www.targetebola.org and pledge your support by donating online or via SMS, text TARGET to 70066 [UK only], and spread the word on social media.