Sheffield sporting stars honoured at glittering gala dinner

11th October 2016

A host of Olympic, Paralympic and world champions have been honoured at an exclusive gala dinner held in celebration of Sheffield's most successful sporting stars.

More than 600 guests attended the Olympic Legacy Park's glittering Celebration of Sport event, which was organised to recognise the city's past, present and future athletes. Six grassroots sports awards for individuals, groups or teams in the Sheffield City Region were presented on the night: Sports Woman of the Year was awarded to Olympic silver medal winning trampolining sensation Bryony Page Sports Man of the Year was awarded to Ponds Forge-based diver, Freddie Woodward, who represented GB at the Rio Olympics Sports Club of the Year was awarded to Strideout Sheffield for its unique brand targeting women aged 16 plus, many who have never tried running before Future Star was awarded to the emerging talent of Sheffield Football Club's Women's Super League team, Hannah Cain Unsung Hero was awarded to Wajid Nazir for his commitment and dedication to the One Nation Community Centre and the Sharrow area of Sheffield Overcoming Adversity was awarded to 15-year-old Clifton Community School rugby league player with Dearne Valley Bulldogs, Said Jamal, who fled Afghanistan after attacks by the Taliban Almost 20 athletes from Rio 2016, five world champions and nine Olympic and Paralympic medallists representing 15 sports attended the red-carpet event, which was hosted by BBC sports reporter Tanya Arnold. Amongst the top names in attendance were Olympic gold medallist, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Olympic hockey champion, Hollie Webb, Paralympic rowing champion, Grace Clough, Olympic boxing silver medallist, Joe Joyce, Paralympic table tennis bronze medallist Ross Wilson, IBF heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, professional mountain biker, Steve Peat, and British cycling road champion, Adam Blythe. They were joined by Sheffield sporting legends John and Sheila Sherwood, Roger Taylor, Peter Elliott, Keith Hackett and Uriah Rennie. Richard Caborn, project lead for Legacy Park Ltd, said: -It was an honour to bring together so many of our city's sporting greats for an evening of celebration, and where better than the English Institute of Sport Sheffield where many of our Olympians and sports stars train. -Sheffield is a city where ordinary people are helped to do extraordinary things and the Celebration of Sport was a chance to showcase this. -From our sporting legends through to those currently flying the flag for Sheffield and our future stars, the awards and the whole evening recognised those who have placed our city firmly on the sporting map. -People often say to me that Sheffield doesn't shout loud enough about the city's success, but last night at the Celebration of Sport I'm proud to say we did exactly that. The event was held in the centre of the Indoor Athletics Arena at the English Institute of Sport Sheffield and included a trampolining display and auction in aid of The Children's Hospital Charity and SportsAid Yorkshire and Humberside. Meadowhall was the headline sponsor of the red-carpet event, held on Wednesday 5 October, and a VIP drinks reception was sponsored by E.ON. The event followed a visit from one of Sheffield's most famous sporting sons, Lord Sebastian Coe, who returned 'home' to see first-hand how the city is playing a key role in delivering a sport, health and wellbeing legacy. During the day, Lord Coe toured the facilities being delivered as part of Sheffield's London 2012 legacy including the city's second UTC and Sheffield Hallam University's Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) and he inducted five world-class athletes into the Hall of Champions at the English Institute of Sport Sheffield.