Cumbria supports another round of talented athletes on the run up to 2012

23rd March 2011

With less than a year to go until the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games hits our shores Active Cumbria the Sport and Physical Activity Partnership announces the second round of Talented Athletes it will support through the Cumbria Talented Athlete Fund.

Cumbria Talented Athlete Fund was created as part of the sporting legacy of London 2012 to support Cumbria's most talented athletes. The fund is supported by Cumbria County Council, South Lakeland District Council, Allerdale Borough Council and Active Cumbria the Sport and Physical Activity Partnership (formerly Cumbria Sport Partnership). The fund was launched at the Cumbria Sports Awards in 2009 and was put in place for three years leading up to London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The recipients to be supported this year will be:

Abbie Hetherington 15 from Wigton a talented athlete in Athletics and Cross Country. Abbie is a member of the England Schools Cross Country team. She is ranked number one in the UK at under 15 in the 1500 metres. Abbie recently came second at the English cross country championships U15s at Alton Towers and third at the English Schools Championships in Nottingham. Abbie will compete in Northern Ireland this weekend running for England in the U16s Schools International.

Ashley Hill 17 from Natland a talented athlete in Alpine Skiing. Ashley is ranked number one nationally in Slalom for the past two years running as well as being highly ranked in GS, Super G, Downhill and Combined. Ashley achieved 8th place in an international senior slalom race last season. Ashley's short term goal is to ski for GB in the Junior World Championships, but his ultimate goal is to represent GB at the Winter Olympics.

Michael Horley 23 from Carlisle a talented athlete in Judo. Michael is ranked 54th internationally and ranked number 2 nationally at 90kg. Michael had a phenomenal 2010 he was select for two tournaments in Brazil and brought back a silver and bronze medal. Having given a great performance at the British Open Michael was selected for the Madrid World Cup, Moscow Grand Slam and German Open only losing to the best in the world in later rounds. He was then selected to fight at the 2010 World Championships in Tokyo.  Michael is confident that he will be representing GB at the Olympic Games in 2012 and beyond. He will experience more International training camps and competitions throughout 2011.

Victoria Johnston 18 from Penrith a talented athlete in Triathlon. Victoria is the 2010 European Gold medalist in her age group. She is European Age Group Champion 16-19 years and is ranked 5th nationally in Junior Elite. In 2010 Victoria was named county cross country champion twice. Last summer Victoria represented GB at the European Triathlon Championships where she won her age group and was second fastest female overall. Victoria hopes to be selected this year for the GB team.

Nick Miller 17 from Carlisle a talented athlete in Athletics, Hammer discipline. Nick is ranked 1st nationally at U20's Hammer 2011 and 1st U20s AAA Champion and World Trials 2010. Nick has set himself huge goals to achieve this year which includes throwing beyond the standard 69metres at the European U20 Championships in Estonia and to be selected to represent Team GB.

Eddie Edge, Director at Active Cumbria said, "I'm delighted to be able to offer Cumbria Talented Athlete Fund grants for the second year. The funding provided by Cumbria County Council, South Lakeland District Council and Allerdale Borough Council will really make a difference to the elite sports performers we have in Cumbria. It will hopefully help them take the next step in their sporting careers and catapult them to Olympic or Paralympic success in 2012 or 2016."

Brendan Jameson, Leader of South Lakeland District Council and Chair of the Cumbria 2012 Group added, "The fund has been a huge success in Cumbria and makes a real difference to the recipients. We had a really good mix of athletes representing a whole range of sports last year and we are keen to do the same again. We would love the fund to continue beyond 2012 but this would require more organisations or businesses coming forward and offering their support".

As part of the grant award, recipients are asked to help promote sport throughout the county are various events as Cumbria Talented Athlete Ambassadors. This was officially recognised by London Organising Committee for Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) in 2010 by awarding Active Cumbria an Inspire Mark.

To find out more about the Fund and how your business can support Cumbrias' talented athletes go to the Cumbria Talented Athlete page 

To speak to someone at Active Cumbria contact Emma Martin