It’s been a while since we heard of Daley Thompson in the news – about 25 years in fact. But he seems to have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons this time.
A fitness company owned by the former Olympic gold medal winner has been slammed for a ‘disrespectful’ promotional video showing members working out in a graveyard.
Daley Fitness club posted the video on YouTube showing fitness enthusiasts doing a circuit of shuttle runs and burpees across Putney Old Burial Ground, in London.
Thompson, who claimed gold in the 1980 and 1984 games, opened the fitness club in earlier this year.
A Wandsworth Council spokesman said: “We have not given them permission to do this and we never would.”
“This is a burial ground not a fitness centre so we would like them to cease these activities immediately.”
Thompson’s fitness club website lists the Saturday morning sessions as taking place at an ‘old school gym’, however, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
Gavin Sunshine, of Daley Fitness, said:
“We’ve been open for four months and in that time we have seen school classes playing rounders, theatre productions, marquees and personal trainers do their thing in the burial ground.
“We assumed, wrongly, that leisure activities go on in the park, so out of the blue we decided we’d finish one of our sessions, with 10 minutes remaining, in the sunshine. We were just trying to give our members a great start to their day.
“As for being ‘disrespectful and thoughtless’, only one of them might apply if you really stretch it. We agree we acted without due thought at a spontaneous moment. We have spoken with Wandsworth Council and as far as Daley Fitness and Wandsworth Council are concerned the matter is now resolved.
“If anyone feels we have disrespected the dead, we would like to apologise to the disrespected and to offer them free membership to the best gym in the world.”
We guess they’re talking about their gym, however, we are sure many of you would disagree.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below.