On Friday, Oct. 18, three months after giving birth to
Prince George, her first child with husband Prince William, the Duchess of
Cambridge attended a
SportsAid Athlete Workshop at the Copper Box in London's
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, where she showed off her impressive volleyball
skills and amazing post-baby body.
Arriving at 10:45 a.m. in a Ralph Lauren breton-style
striped top, a navy-blue military blazer by Smythe, cropped J Brand jeggings,
and Stuart Weitzman for Russell and Bromley "corkswoon" wedges, the
31-year-old Brit looked radiant and super-slim. Her long brown hair was blown
out, and she grinned as she took in the scene around her.
After watching some young athletes in action at sports
including wheelchair basketball, fencing, and badminton, Middleton met a few
volleyball players and agreed to join them for a bit. "I'll try my
best," she said, laughing.
Her best turned out to be pretty good. Thought she dropped
the ball on her last attempt, she managed to volley it several times before
that in heeled wedges, no less! (She declined, however, to take part in a
fencing match and badminton. "She said it would be hard to fence in those
shoes," Junior European judo medalist Nekoda Davis said.)
"She was a natural," 18-year-old Toby French, a
volleyball player from Chelmsford, says of the Duchess. "You can tell
she's sporty. She said she's played a little before."
Prince William's wife then joined several athletes and their
parents for some educational workshops about media, nutrition, and general
guidance from Olympians and Paralympians including Katherine Grainger, Ade
Adepitan, and Karen Pickering.
SportsAid, of which Middleton is a patron, is a charity
aimed at helping and recognizing young British athletes. Established in 1976,
it has offered support and financial assistance to many talented sportsmen and
women, including two-thirds of the British team at the London 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games.
"The Duchess was very keen to learn more about the
difference SportsAid meant to these young players and asked whether we had any
more players coming through as a result of last year's games," bronze
medal-winning paralympian Ade Adepitan says. "I told her we had more than
ever before. It's been rermarkable."
Middleton also took part in a mock press conference, taking on
the role of a journalist. "It's fantastic you have all been part of
SportsAid," she said to the athletes. "How has it helped you with
your training?"
"The thing that has really struck me is how keen she
was to see what we did in action," SportsAid's chief executive, Tim
Lawler, noted after the Duchess had left. "We are a charity about people,
not great buildings. Every penny we raise goes to the kind of people you see
here.
We always tell our young people that they are beautiful and
inspirational, and now we can say that about our patron, too. She was very
bright, very switched on, and she asked all the right questions. But more than
that, she was very thoughtful and listened well."
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