A double Olympic medallist and former world record holder met amateur swimmers for a masterclass opportunity.

Retired swimmer Nick Gillingham MBE visited members of Waltham Forest Swimming Club the Gators yesterday afternoon for a three-hour tutorial on breaststroke.

The visit to Forest School's Slyvestrian Leisure Centre in College Place, Walthamstow, was funded using Jack Petchey prize money awarded to Gators' Kevin Lopez and Ryan McCoy.

Mr Gillingham, considered to be one of the most consistent championship performers in British swimming history, gave the young swimmers a presentation on the art of breaststroke before coaching them for two hours in the pool.

During his long career throughtout the 1980s and 1990s, Mr Gillingham broke three world, 10 European, nine commonwealth and 17 British records and won 17 major championships.

At the 1988 Seoul Olympics he won the silver medal in the 200 metres breaststroke, followed by a bronze medal in the same event, four years later in Barcelona.