MALVERN Cycle Sport star Evie Richards collected her second prestigious sporting honour in the space of a month when she was presented with the West Midlands Community Sports Awards BBC Newcomer of the Year crown.
The 17-year-old was among more than 300 people who attended the red carpet event at Aston Villa Football Club on Thursday as the West Midlands County Sports Partnership Network played host to the awards, sponsored by the Association of Colleges West Midlands.
Organised by the six County Sports Partnerships in the West Midlands, in partnership with the Association of Colleges West Midlands, this celebration of local sport recognised the quality, commitment and dedication of grassroots sport in the region.
Evie won the accolade – presented to her by Wasps and England rugby player Joe Launchbury – after seeing off competition from five of the region’s top newcomers.
She is currently ranked first in England for junior mountain biking cross country and second in Great Britain after a year which has seen her claim five winners podium places and four second places, as well as winning the Sports Partnership Herefordshire & Worcestershire’s own BBC Newcomer of the Year title at Worcester Warriors’ Sixways home.
Following that success in early November, she was one of five finalists representing Herefordshire & Worcestershire in Birmingham as the six West Midland County Sports Partnerships joined forces to showcase and celebrate the work of high performing individuals, dedicated volunteers and groups from around the region with the presentation of eight awards.
She was also selected to race for Great Britain at September’s World Junior Championships in Norway, where she finished a superb sixth.
