Princess Royal opens new Medway Park sports centre

Princess Anne tried out a few of the sports during her visit to Medway Park

A Kent sports centre and Olympics training camp has been officially opened by the Princess Royal.

The President of the British Olympic Association unveiled a commemorative plaque at Medway Park in Gillingham.

Formerly the Black Lion Leisure Centre, the venue will be a training site for 13 Olympic and eight Paralympic sports.

Princess Anne, who represented Great Britain at eventing in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, was given a tour of the £11m renovation.

The site boasts an eight-lane athletics track, a new 12-court multi-use sports hall and a modern gym.

Her visit coincided with the first day of the Modern Pentathlon European Championships being held at the park.

The event is a 2012 Olympics qualifier and the top eight finishers in the men's and women's teams will go on to compete in London next year.

Barbados and Senegal have signed up to use Medway Park ahead of the Olympics and the Portuguese trampolining squad will use the neighbouring Jumpers Rebound Centre.