Eighty-four Cornwall-based athletes, including some from the Cornish Times area, have been awarded support worth £52,700 by the GLL Sport Foundation (GSF).

A celebration event to hand out certificates and congratulate recipients has been held at Liskeard Leisure Centre.

Paralympian table-tennis player Dave Wetherill, from Torpoint, and Colin Coughtrey, GLL’s regional community health and sport manager, led the proceedings and James Curry (head of service for GLL in Cornwall), Julie Zessimedes (head of culture, leisure and libraries for Cornwall Council), Cllr Nick Craker, Cllr Julian Smith and Chris Elliott (Cornwall County Swimming Association) presented the awards.

The athletes selected represent 18 different sports at a variety of levels including Olympic, Paralympic, Special Olympic and Commonwealth. 58% of those supported are under 21, 23% are under 16 and most don’t receive any other central funding.

Among those being presented with awards on the night were world number four ocean surf ski racer Rosemary Edwards, 18; brother and sister sailing duo Jasmine Williams, 19, and Theo Williams, 22; triathlon star Stephen Farnell, 51; badminton double gold medallist in the Special Olympics Summer Series Nikki Welch, 29 and swimmer Megan Daniel, 13, who won 13 gold medals at the 2023 Cornwall County Championships.

Fifteen-year-old Logan Murray, from Truro, only started athletics last year but has already claimed three gold medals and a bronze at the Activity Alliance National Disability Championships for shot, discus and long jump.

“I’m chuffed to pieces for him,” said his mother, Michelle Murray. “Logan has autism and, when he was three years old, an occupational therapist wrote him off, saying he would never be able to walk.

“Contrary to that prediction, he managed to achieve his 200m swimming badge by the age of five. When his brother Isaac, who is 19, started cross country, Logan wanted to try track and field training. His success since has opened up his world and the GLL award will be a huge help with his training. We couldn’t afford to pay for gym membership and travelling to events is really expensive. This changes everything.”

Neil Eddy, from Penzance, is a top-level, long-distance triathlete who was crowned the ITU Long Course AG World Champion in 2019. He also won the Ironman Majorca title in the 35-39 age category in May 2022.

“Sport success is all about good preparation and the GSF Awards play a massive part in accessing the right facilities,” he said.

2023 marks 19-year-old Fabio Zamparelli’s first year as a senior F20 shot putter and discus thrower. Having just made his international debut, he has already claimed the UK F20 Senior Shot-Put record.

“He has an intellectual impairment and had a very difficult start in life,” said his very proud mother Filomena Zamparelli, from Truro. “His goal is to be world champion and, with the passion and drive sport is giving him, I’m convinced he’ll achieve that.”

After the awards presentation, Dave Wetherill chaired a question-and-answer session with a panel of athletes comprising Neil Eddy (triathlon), Theo and Jasmine Williams (sailing) and Caitlin Keaney (modern pentathlon).

James Curry said: “2023 marks the 15th anniversary of the GSF Awards and we’re delighted that, after a three-year break because of COVID, we were able to give our stars their awards in person again.

“I’d like to thank our GLL team in Cornwall for making that happen, our partners and sponsors for their continued support and Dawn Crouch, who runs The Poolside Café at Saltash Leisure Centre, for some excellent food and drink.”