Rower step closer to stardom after selection for prestigious sporting programme

By Mohamed Hamza, Sportsbeat

Rower Katie Breeze has moved a step closer to sporting stardom after selection for a prestigious sporting programme which helped propel Sir Steve Redgrave to legendary status.

The 18-year-old, who is in her final year at Wycombe High School, will attend Syracuse University in New York next year fresh from being singled out by charity SportsAid as an athlete with the potential to reach the very top.

A winner at the Junior Sculling Regatta and an U23 triallist, Breeze’s biggest achievement yet in her burgeoning rowing career was representing her country at the 2023 edition of Coupe de la Jeunesse, taking home bronze at the tournament’s conclusion.

The Marlow rower recalled: “It feels incredible. It feels surreal to say that I’ve won a medal for Team GB. It fills me with excitement for the future and it makes me happy that I’m in a sport that I love.

“To be able to do it with my friends as well as for myself is incredible and it’s such a great achievement.”

Breeze is one of 50 athletes supported by a partnership betweenSportsAid and Pitching In, a multimillion-pound grassroots sport programme established by Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral.

SportsAid athletes like Breeze are Great Britain's brightest sporting prospects. They are nominated to SportsAid by the national governing bodies of more than 60 sports based on set criteria from each.

The typical value of a SportsAid award is £1,000 with money generated through a combination of commercial partnerships, trust and charitable funds, and fundraising activities.

Breeze hailed SportsAid for their support in helping her find a second wind both on and off the water – helping to overcome adversity as an athlete.

She said: “They did a webinar the other day on resilience and just how to cope with racing and things like that. Sport is so physically and mentally demanding, when things get hard it’s easy to think ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t do this’, but it’s really normal and part of being an athlete.

“It gets hard, and you have to find a way to bounce back and get back to it. It’s hard when you’ve got two things you want to put 100 percent to, but it’s just that advice on how to cope with it and knowing where to find information, to find that balance between the two.

“Your sport and school are really demanding for young athletes so it’s important to know that mental side of it. You don’t want it to get you down, you want to keep giving 100 per cent at both.

That’s where SportsAid comes and it’s giving you that help and info, resilience, and nutrition and making sure you’re fuelling yourself both in sports and studying.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more.