Poppy Maskill, Alice Tai and Tom Daley were among the winners at the Sports Journalists' Association's British Sports Awards 2024 after a sensational year for Aquatics GB athletes.
All three left Paris with medals to their name in the summer, with Maskill's stunning five-medal haul - made up of three gold medals, two silvers and a world record in the Women's S14 100m Butterfly at her debut Paralympic Games - seeing her pick up the SJA Peter Wilson Trophy for female breakthrough performance of the year, four days on from becoming Aquatics GB's Champion Athlete for 2024 at The Aquatics GB Awards 2024.
The National Lottery Spirit of Sport Award went to Tai, another winner of five Paralympic medals in Paris, two of them gold. Alice's award was testament not only to her impact in the pool in Paris but her position as a role model outside of the water as well, covered in part in the TV feature Amputating Alice, which also won awards this year and charted her journey from having her right leg amputated in 2022 to the World Championship and Commonwealth podium that year, a journey that has continued to catch the eye in competition and beyond ever since.
"I was born with bilateral talipes, more commonly known as club feet, and had about 14 operations when I was young. I started swimming as a form of rehab and grew up by the sea, so it was a form of water safety. It snowballed from there - and I went from having swimming lessons at a local pool to standing on the podium at a Paralympics. It has gone from strength, and I'm so grateful to still be in the sport and still be inspiring others," said Alice.
At the Olympic Games, Daley cemented his legacy in Aquatics GB diving as he claimed his fifth Olympic medal at his fifth Games when he partnered Noah Williams to Men's 10m Synchro silver. Outside of the diving pool, Tom's legacy is just as strong, becoming a vocal advocate and ambassador for LGBTQ+ rights and visibility - with the 30-year-old's impact recognised by the SJA in him winning the JL Manning Award for services off the field of play.
"Throughout my journey as a diver, I feel like I've gone through different waves of what sport means to me. Starting when I was seven, by chance, I just came across diving boards, saw people diving and wanted to give it a go - and I fell in love with diving. On my journey, I was inspired by so many people to try diving because I saw it and I saw it as something that could be available to me," he told Sky Sports News from Tokyo, where he is opening a new knitting exhibition.
"As I've gotten older, I realise that the more things you can see and believe you can also do the same thing, it empowers younger people to want to try. That's something I've taken outside the diving pool as well - being visible, being authentic to yourself, it's our biggest power."
Daley was part of Team GB's most successful ever diving team, which won five Olympic medals in Paris - including a clean sweep of synchro podium placings, plus bronze for Williams in the Men's 10m Platform. That followed on from a best-ever haul of seven at February's World Aquatics Championships - and the British diving team were duly nominated in the SJA Team of the Year category, which was won by the British Rowing team.
For more information on every award and winner from the SJA British Sports Awards 2024, visit the SJA website.
