College to help hurdler Khai jump to new heights

4th September 2015

Khai Riley La-Borde, 19, from Purfleet, Essex, is moving one step closer to his dream of competing at the European Championships thanks to a donation of £1,000 from Barking & Dagenham College.

Khai, who is studying to become a motor mechanic at the College, has been involved in athletics since he was 11 years old, first competing in shot put, before settling on hurdles as his sport of choice. Since then he has worked hard to improve his hurdling skills and last year made it to the European Under 23 Championship qualifiers.

However, Khai realised that if he was to progress further, he would need extra support, and that’s where Barking & Dagenham College stepped in.

The College has presented Khai with a cheque for £1,000 which Khai will now use to help step up his training. Following in the footsteps of champion sprinter and former Barking & Dagenham College student Adam Gemili, it’s Khai’s dream to compete in the European Championships and from there the Olympics.

Errol Parker, Curriculum Manager for Sports, Leisure and Public Services at the College said:

“Training and competing in any sport can become very expensive, so we wanted to make sure that Khai had the best chance possible to reach his goals. People forget the fact that athletes have to put in long hours of hard work, often taking them away from family and friends, to become the best at what they do."

“We wanted to make sure that Khai had that extra bit of help and the money we have given him will help him with equipment and other training costs that he has. We have every confidence in his ability and know he’ll go far. I think he could certainly be the Adam Gemili of hurdling and we are all looking forward to watching Khai’s career.”

Khai commented:

“Thanks to the help of Barking & Dagenham College I will hopefully be able to compete abroad more often next year. My main goal now is the European Championships. I feel I have much more chance qualifying for the team.”