Amy Thompson believes an eye-opening nutritional workshop organised by Aldi can catalyse her journey to the summit of her sport.

The Liverpool para-athletics star is a member of the retailer’s Rising Stars programme, an initiative that supports 20 young athletes by providing a financial award to help with training and competition costs, while also delivering personal development opportunities to many athletes through workshop sessions.

The programme enabled Thompson to attend a unique Taste Kitchen workshop at Aldi’s Atherstone HQ, providing her with valuable insight into fuelling an athlete’s body for training and competing, as well as top tips for recipes, batch cooking and eating on the go.

Ealing Times: AldiAldi (Image: Aldi)

Thompson, 16, specialises in the discus and shot put events and has already caught the eye with impressive Grand Prix performances, securing qualification in the England Athletics Senior Championships.

She believes that attending the memorable Midlands event can help further accelerate her journey to the top. She said: “I really enjoyed it. I feel everyone needs the help in nutrition and how key it is for the athletics lifestyle. Information like how there are different types of carbohydrates and how they can fuel your energy both short and long term is really important. It was a really informative session.”

The Rising Stars athletes will receive financial support through Aldi, as well as a monthly food voucher, to fuel them through training, competitions and to future Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Aldi have a top 10 shopping list of affordable, healthy items recommended by nutritionists, Nigel Mitchell and Jenny Tschiesche – both of whom attended the event to help Thompson develop a better understanding of nutritious foods key for training, skills for cooking, and how to maximise her monthly Aldi vouchers.

Thompson learned that eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming, with Tschiesche and Mitchell taking her and her fellow athletes through multiple recipes throughout the day.

Thompson’s mum Karen was also in attendance and believes her daughter’s unique para sport circumstances necessitate a different approach to nutrition. “An average person’s BMI would be your height divided by your weight,” she said. “Amy’s probably seven stone but she’s only the height of a six-year-old, so her BMI is always going to be out no matter where you go. So, there are no charts for Amy, I’ve just got to do it by eye because they don’t help us, so nutrition is really important for us.”

Aldi is the Official Supermarket Partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB and have partnered with Team GB since 2015, ParalympicsGB since 2022 and will be supporting them through to Paris 2024