Calum Johnston Scholarships have been provided by the Youth Sport Trust thanks to the very generous support of the Johnston family following the sad loss of their son, Calum in 2005. Calum was an energetic teenager with a zest for life and a love for sport, especially athletics, canoe slalom and rugby union.
This year’s awards have gone to the following young people:
Tunde Judun
Event: 100m
Tunde is currently ranked No 1 in the UK over 100m for his age group (under 15s). On 12 July 2008 Tunde clocked a wind-assisted 11.10 to take gold at the recent English Schools competition at Gateshead. This is the fastest time recorded in the age group for two years. This is a huge achievement, not least because he has only recently begun competing seriously and this event was the first he has attended outside London.
Tunde took up running thanks to the commitment of his school to develop talented young athletes. He has only trained in athletics for eight months and has spent much of this time injured. He had to walk with the aid of a crutch only five weeks before the Championships! His natural talent, dedication and diligence have always been undoubted.
Yasmin Miller
Event: 75m Hurdles, 100m, 200m
Yasmin is a highly promising young sprinter and hurdler ranked 1st, 4th and 8th in the U15 75m hurdles, 100m and 200m respectively, despite being at the lower end of her age bracket. She has competed extensively over the last two years, attending 32 different meets and competing in 86 finals across her three disciplines. She has only failed to win on six occasions over this period, finishing second five times and third once. Her latest victory was at the English Schools competition at Gateshead where she surprised many by winning gold despite racing against older girls.
Matt Bowley
Event: Canoeing: K1 Whitewater, K4 Sprint
Matt is a versatile and highly able young canoeist. He is the national U14 K-4 sprint champion over both 500m and 100m. He is also a national champion in Wildwater, winning the U14 K-1 national youth series. On the 12 July 2008 he claimed his first international gold by winning the U14 category at the Titlis International Wildwater Racing event in Switzerland. He has been selected for the GB Wildwater Racing Development Team 2008. Matt has demonstrated that he has the skill, determination and aptitude to compete at a very high level. His has a genuine enjoyment of both training and competing across two disciplines of Canoeing. Based on Matthew’s current level of development and performance he has his sights set on a place at the 2016 Olympic Games.
If you would like to know more about the scholarship programme, please email: ken.ronald@youthsporttrust.org or telephone: 01509 226633