Olympic gold medal cyclist Kathy Watt (centre) returned to her former school last week where she inspired Warragul North primary School students including Joel Bradshaw, Jack Bucknall, Arsalan Syed, Steph Burchell, Isla Gibbon, Maggie Hallyburton, Chelsea Robinson, Lilly Millmow, Georgia Potter (front), Abel Bennett, Ethan Harvey, Jake Nelson (front), Harper McNair, Ailish Furphy and Marcella Incoll.
Olympic cyclist Kathy Watt visited Warragul North Primary School on Wednesday to speak to students ahead of the Geoff Watt Memorial Fun Run's 50th anniversary in October.
Two grade five classes and four grade four classes gathered in the school's gym to hear Ms Watt talk about her sporting experiences and achievements.
Students were delighted to hear the local sporting star was once a student at Warragul North, and bombarded her with all sorts of questions at the end of her presentation.
Ms Watt outlined her childhood experiences during her speech and encouraged students to try as many different sports as possible in their younger years.
"You don't always have to be the best," she told them.
"If you learn those skills at your age you can keep those skills for life, whether it's tennis, swimming, or how to ride a bike.
"Even if you don't want to compete you can still enjoy it."
Ms Watt said she did not start cycling until she turned 21 years old, after experiencing achiles tendon problems that ended her athletics competitions.
She described the highlights of her career, which included the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Ms Watt talked about her father Geoff Watt's influence on her young life and told the children about the upcoming fun run and festival - which is held each year in his memory. Mr Watt was an accomplished marathon, ultra marathon runner and adventure runner. The Warragul athletics track in Burke St is named in his memory.
"He inspired me to get into athletics," she explained.
Ms Watt told the students to set "little goals" for themselves and write them down, whether that be working as a team or winning a netball tournament.
She said it was important to keep learning, and told several stories about how she learnt lessons that helped her in her sporting career.
Ms Watt gave students her Olympic and Commonwealth medals to hold and look at, which was an exciting experience for many students.
After the presentation, Ms Watt signed a few items for the students and had several photographs with students.
The Geoff Watt Memorial Fun Run and Festival will be held at the Geoff Watt Track on October 23.
The event includes a half marathon, men's and women's 10km and 5km run, a 2.5km run or walk, and a one-lap dash.
Winners of the past 50 years of the Geoff Watt Memorial Half Marathon will be invited to also appear on stage for a presentation to celebrate the special anniversary.
