Sport legends join Beefy Walk for Laureus
November 6
Two Australian cricket captains, one English cricket legend and a South African World Cup winning hero means only one thing.
It's day 6 of Ian Botham's Beefy Walk across Sri Lanka.
Today he was joined for a second day running by fellow Laureus Academy Members Morne du Plessis and Steve Waugh for the trek of 20km through the beautiful coastal region of Tangalle.
The walk was a particularly colourful one today. As the group made its way through the busy urban area, children lined the streets outside their schools to wave the walkers along. Today, the group even enjoyed school bands, traditional Sri Lankan dancers and one unforgettable group of young people dancing around on six-foot stilts in purple costumes.
Two Australian cricket captains, one English cricket legend and a South African World Cup winning hero means only one thing.
It's day 6 of Ian Botham's Beefy Walk across Sri Lanka.
Today he was joined for a second day running by fellow Laureus Academy Members Morne du Plessis and Steve Waugh for the trek of 20km through the beautiful coastal region of Tangalle.
The walk was a particularly colourful one today. As the group made its way through the busy urban area, children lined the streets outside their schools to wave the walkers along. Today, the group even enjoyed school bands, traditional Sri Lankan dancers and one unforgettable group of young people dancing around on six-foot stilts in purple costumes.
It was surely a day none of the four sport legends will forget quickly, and for Allan Border, adding to the line-up from yesterday's walk through the capital of Colombo, the pace of the walk won't be forgotten soon either.
At the finish line, Border said: That was a a tough day at the office. Botham is a machine! After the pace he sets at the start, you find yourself jogging every 100 metres to make up the 30/40 metres you have dropped back. I take my hat off to Laureus. You can see from the reception we are getting that the public are behind it and obviously Botham, the freak he is, just keeps on giving.
Botham is undertaking the challenge in order to raise funds for Laureus-supported countries in Sri Lanka and across the world.
With two days to go, the walk has moved from the sparse areas of the north, to the increasingly built up towns around the middle of the island country. And it is clear that seeing the local people as he passes on his 160 mile trek is important for Botham.
He said today: "The support of local people really helps get through what is a tough challenge. We are doing this for young Sri Lankan people after all, to help give them the opportunities to make the most of life after the tragedies of the civil war and tsunami."
Keep up to date by following the official Laureus twitter account here for pictures, quotes and much more.
