Dame Katherine Grainger revealed her disappointment in the harrowing statistics that less than half of young people are taking part in their recommended hour of daily activity.

The 48-year-old sporting titan won five Olympic and eight world championship medals in her storied rowing career and has seen first-hand the wide-ranging benefits that sport can bring to an individual.

Therefore, the statistic that less than half of all young people in the UK achieve the Chief Medical Officer's recommendation that children should be active for 60 minutes a day is a cruel dent in Grainger's plans to get everyone active through sport.

"I hate talking about it in some ways and it’s really hard," she said.

"For someone who loves sport and has benefited massively from doing sport, whether it’s physical health, mental well-being or the opportunities, it's difficult to hear.

"We know that something as simple as 60 minutes of activity a day for young people is really important but sadly less than half of young people are achieving this.

"We know that young people aren’t doing what’s recommended for them and there is such a low awareness of it as well.

(Image: Beat Media Group)

"Events like National Schools Sports Week are therefore so vital because it gives people that awareness."

Through her role as a Youth Sport Trust trustee, Grainger recently attended the launch of National School Sports Week at Swiss Cottage School in London.

National School Sports Week is a week long annual campaign ran by the Youth Sport Trust which aims to champion the role of PE, physical activity, and school sport in allowing all pupils to reach their full potential.

This year, the week, powered by Sports Direct’s Monster Kickabout is themed around ‘putting all into football,’ through one hour a day of PE, sport, and play, with the intention of driving up awareness of the Chief Medical Officer’s’ recommendation that children should be active for a minimum of 60 minutes a day to stay happy and healthy.

It's an initiative close to Grainger's heart and the former rower is now eager to pass on her experience of how sport truly can help you achieve greatness.

"National School Sports Week has been going for a very long time and is recognised and celebrated for bringing together young people across the country to compete in a variety of sports," she said.

"There’s a hugely competitive element of course but it’s about communities coming together to get inspiration and aspiration.

"But it’s also about showing the real value that sport can bring to people’s lives and how it enhances confidence in what might be possible.

"Sport is one of the greatest gifts we have for both the body and the mind.

"For young people who are developing their own way in the world, it can give them that sense of confidence that ambition.

"I never intended to spend 20 years in high performance sport but I’m grateful every day that I fell into it as it tested me and given me such reward."

National School Sports Week is an annual campaign, launched originally in 2008 and run by national children’s charity the Youth Sport Trust, to champion the role of PE, physical activity, and school sport in allowing all pupils to reach their full potential.