Jade Jones to go head to head to compete for sporting glory at National Lottery awards

Welsh sporting icons Jade Jones and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson are amongst twelve top UK athletes competing for public votes after reaching the finals of this year’s 25th Birthday National Lottery Awards.

The Sporting Legend category in the Awards provides a golden opportunity to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the UK’s world class National Lottery funded athletes, whilst demonstrating the impact that National Lottery players have had on elite sport since 1997.

Flint’s golden girl, Jade Jones, was the first British athlete to become an Olympic Taekwondo Champion when she took gold at London 2012 at the age of 19 – a performance which earned her an MBE.

She became a double Olympic champion at the age of 23 when she secured another gold at Rio 2016.

The National Lottery has funded Jade Jones throughout her career and has assisted her preparations in the build-up for both the 2012 and the 2016 Olympics and now in the run up to Tokyo 2020.

She is one of over 1,000 elite athletes in the UK funded by the National Lottery, allowing her to train full time to reach her full potential.

Jade Jones, said: "I’m thrilled to be a Sporting Legend finalist in the 25th Birthday National Lottery Awards.

"Inspiring the next generation and giving young people opportunities from an early age is so important.

"The National Lottery has supported thousands of athletes like myself throughout our careers and has helped us to secure podium places at the highest level.

"I always had the desire, commitment, vision and support to succeed but National Lottery funding allowed me to compete and train full time and access world-class facilities and training programmes which give you that extra edge in competitive sport."

Competing for the title is also Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who has won a total of 16 Paralympics medals, including 11 golds, held over 30 World Records, and won the London Marathon six times.

Both athletes have benefitted from the National Lottery funded World Class Programme, which affords athletes coaching, training, and competition support, medical, technology and scientific services.

Urging the public to get voting for their Sporting Legend, Sport Wales CEO, Sarah Powell, added: “Over the past 25 years the National Lottery has made an enormous difference to sport in Wales.

"The most visible effect is perhaps with our elite athletes, who we see winning medals at Olympics and Commonwealth Games, doing incredible feats of sporting endeavour, and showcasing the passion and pride of Wales on the world stage.

"National Lottery funding has enabled them to train more effectively, access world-class medical and psychological support, and through this, make huge improvements to their performance."

The shortlisted athletes beat off competition from a longlist of over 50 other worthy contenders to reach the public voting stage in this year’s National Lottery Awards.

The finalists were selected by the judging panel for their sporting achievements, passion for their sport and ability to inspire others.

This year, the Awards will reflect The National Lottery’s 25-year legacy, giving a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the sporting legends who have benefitted from National Lottery funding over the last quarter of a century.

The public vote, until August 21, will decide which athlete is crowned champion. More information about the shortlist and the vote can be found online at

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