Bethany Shriever

Winner

Action Sportsperson of the Year 2022 Winner

Bethany

Shriever

BMX

Won both Olympic and World Championship BMX gold medals in the same year. In Tokyo, she had to hold off two-time Olympic champion Mariana Pajon to win the gold medal.

The 22-year-old teaching assistant had to raise £50,000 in crowd-funding ahead of Tokyo to finance her own qualification campaign after UK Sport cut its support. Shriever was regarded as Britain’s next BMX star after winning the junior world title in 2017, but she left the national set-up later that year after UK Sport said, based on results at senior level, it would only fund male riders. She chose to go solo and her decision led to her golden year.

I just want to say a massive thank you to the Laureus Academy for voting for me. I’m so, so proud. People don’t know how hard I’ve worked this year, last year, all the way up to the Games. Now to be awarded this, so prestigious, means so much to me.

BETHANY SHRIEVER

What Bethany Shriever says: “Honestly, being nominated was enough, but to win it, wow, what an honour. I just want to say a massive thank you to the Laureus Academy for voting for me. I’m so, so proud. People don’t know how hard I’ve worked this year, last year, all the way up to the Games. Now to be awarded this, so prestigious, means so much to me. Also to be up against those amazing Nominees as well. Thank you so much, I can’t believe it. I went to Tokyo to take it all in, embrace the moment, and came away with a gold medal, so to achieve that so early in my career is mind-blowing, so hopefully it has motivated me to continue on with this success and get more gold medals down the line.

“In 2016 the funding for women’s BMX got cut, basically because we had no women in Rio for the Games and they didn’t see any potential and decided to invest somewhere else. Fair enough, but it was rubbish for me because I had no programme, no support, so basically I had to work part time as a teaching assistant and crowd-fund to get to the races to get to the Games. I got the money to pay for a good coach, travel round the world to get points and when British Cycling realised there was potential there and I could maybe medal at the Games, that’s when they came back in on my journey and UK Sport and the National Lottery decided to fund me as an athlete and I’ve been training full time ever since.”

WHAT LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBERS SAY:

Cycling legend Chris Hoy presented the Laureus Statuette to Bethany. He said: “As a fellow Brit, I am absolutely delighted to be here to present Beth with the Laureus Action Sportsperson of the Year Award. Congratulations. What an amazing year you’ve had. It was amazing to watch.

“Action Sports people are just a different breed, they live for danger and laugh in the face of fear. What they do is simply awe-inspiring, their skill and bravery can push the boundary for what human beings are capable of doing.”

British Paralympic legend Tanni Grey-Thompson, the Vice Chair of the Laureus Academy said: “Looking at what Beth achieved in Tokyo, the pressure in terms of what she was able to deliver, but then finding out actually she had to crowd-fund to get there, I think sometimes the assumption is that all British athletes have huge amounts of funding. And that's the bit that's always easy and always sorted. It’s not always true, because you know, especially with some of the new sports, they're not in that position where funding is a given. That was just one of those moments that so many people watched and will kind of remember that performance.”