Among the other medallists who have sat for sculptor Ben Dearnley are rower Steve Williams and dressage rider Lee Pearson, who both won gold medals at the Olympics and Paralympics.

 

Dearnley said: “Each athlete has been honoured in a unique way, isolating the essential power zone that relates to their individual discipline.

 

"The resulting sculpture is a fragment of the whole and the true beauty of this project is that it becomes a universal reference to all men and women, able bodied and not.”

 

It is proposed that they will stand within the grounds of the Olympic Park in 2012.

 

The statues will be scaled up to four times life-size, making each sculpture around four metres high.

 

Carved from the finest Italian Cararra marble, the sculptures will glisten in the summer sunshine as timeless beacons of strength and beauty.

 

The project, to date, has involved Dearnley and his team traveling around the country visiting each athlete at where they train.

 

He said: “The final ‘Avenue of Champions’ will present a range of Olympic and Paralympics athletes in a fragmented format and at first we will find it difficult to discern who is who.

 

“When we see that the body we are looking at is one which has spent most of its life in the pursuit of excellence at its chosen discipline we begin to see the subtle but significant differences in body shape and tone.

 

"This gives a deeper insight to the athlete’s inner focus, preserving for all time their peak physical state.

 

"What we are looking at is a representation of what it takes to become the very best in the world at any particular sport.”

 

Other sportsmen and women involved in the project include Paralympic basketball player Ade Adepitan, swimmer Mark Foster (pictured) and gymnast Louis Smith, who won a bronze medal in Beijing last year.

 

A preview is due to be held at the Belgravia Gallery from 6pm to 8.30 p.m. tomorrow at 45 Albemarle Street, London, W1S 4JL.