Boxing champion visits Chiswick primary school

Roberto and children at William Hogarth School

Four-time national champion Roberto Lacourt spoke to pupils at William Hogarth School

In a visit to William Hogarth School on Thursday 5 June, boxer Roberto Lacourt, four time national champion, spoke about his sporting success, bouncing back from defeats, and the importance of good nutrition.

Teacher Luke Howley arranged the visit, and said the children learned a lot from Roberto’s journey as an athlete:

“It’s not always easy. These athletes will meet their challenges and lose in fights, and it shows the students how important resilience is.

“They were absolutely in awe of him”.

Roberto demonstrating sparring

The boxer, whose greatest achievement so far has been to win the Youth ABA national championships, ran circuit training sessions with individual classes, and got students and teachers involved in boxing demonstrations.

Roberto is a mentor for Sports For Champions, an organisation which works with schools to help fundraise for professional athletes.

“The children were in awe of him”

Balancing athletics and academic study

Roberto has been boxing since he was six years old, and is aiming to make it to the 2028 Olympics. The athlete recently returned to competing after taking four years out while studying for a masters in Chemistry at Oxford University.

“My greatest challenge has always been balancing sport and school. In my GCSE year, I lost three competitions in a row after having been undefeated for two years. I felt like giving up at the time but I took a break over summer, and then came back to go undefeated and win two national championships the next season”.

He told The Athlete Podcast:

“Without boxing, I wouldn’t have been able to get to Oxford, and I wouldn’t have been able to get through Oxford, because the skills I learned in the boxing gym when it comes to determination, commitment, and working on your own project… I have worked on those skills from when I was six years old”.

Roberto spoke to the children about the importance of perseverance, and on overcoming challenges he has faced while competing.

Roberto gives coaching sessions, which are available to book here.

Roberto and children at William Hogarth School