Sam Reardon finishes runner-up in SportsAid’s One-to-Watch Award 2024

Athletics star Sam Reardon has hailed the unfaltering belief of those around him after finishing as runner-up for SportsAid's illustrious One-to-Watch Award.

The 21-year-old, from Beckenham in Kent, soared to double Olympic bronze this summer as part of the mixed 4x400m and men's 4x400m relay squads in Paris following a remarkable journey to the Games.

Sam was sat at home watching the Opening Ceremony before a late call-up saw him replace team-mate Charlie Carvell after he withdrew through injury.

Having overcome his initial disappointment of missing out on a maiden Olympics due to sustaining a hamstring tear on a training camp in South Africa earlier in the year, Sam bounced back in style to stand on the podium not just once, but twice.

Sam, who has been supported by SportsAid over the last two years, has now seen his incredible achievements further recognised as he was surprised with the runner-up plaque by his coach Nigel Stickings during a training session with his Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletics Club team-mates at the Norman Park Community Sports Centre.

The annual One-to-Watch Award, supported by Aldi, the charity’s Official Supermarket Partner, celebrates Britain’s brightest young sporting prospects and has been running since 2006 with previous winners including Olympic champions Tom Daley and Alex Yee and Paralympic gold medallist Hollie Arnold. Sam had initially been shortlisted in the top 10 athletes, selected from around 1,000 rising stars, supported by SportsAid, across more than 60 different sports in 2024.

"The amount of athletes that SportsAid support is massive and even to be nominated in the top 10 was huge,” said Sam.

“To finish runner-up is a really amazing feeling and makes you feel like you have been noticed for what you've done this year which is nice. SportsAid has been a massive help and having someone say ‘we believe in you’ is so, so important.

"I think SportsAid do God’s work to help the young athletes of Britain get to where they want to be. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Sam and Nigel have trained together for almost five years and the runner is quick to thank his coach for being a pillar of his athletics career.

The two have been in each other's corner throughout a rollercoaster year, with Sam now the first of Nigel’s athletes to reach Olympian status. And Sam was delighted to be able to share a special moment with his coach which they can treasure for years to come.

"When I first joined him [Nigel] as an athlete, I was really struggling to find the right person and wasn't enjoying training that much," added Sam.

"When I switched groups to Nigel, it was kind of like fate. His coaching was the way I wanted, really personal coaching, and I started making teams from there. I started to experience the dreams I had always hoped of in my sport and my career. The dreams just kept getting bigger and Nigel always helped me believe along the way.

"I knew we had SportsAid coming down to film me at training and so we had set up on the track. But I was doing my interview [with Nick Hope] and Nigel came over and gave me the trophy which was really special. It made it a whole lot more special having Nigel give me the Award.

"We've gone from humble club athletics to the biggest stage of the Olympics so to have that moment was great."

After winning two Olympic medals on his debut in Paris, Sam now feels the added pressure to continue to perform at the highest level but believes landmark moments such as this will help give him the inner confidence to kick on.

“This story has been like something out of a movie….it was written in the stars,” said Sam. "The Olympics was the best moment of my life and whenever I hear the medal ceremony music it always sends me back, but I'm ready to look forward now. It was a great year and I've learnt a lot but there's more expectation and pressure on me now.

“I’m always someone who believes I can achieve big things but this has just propelled me [coming runner-up for One-to-Watch Award] even further. And now I want to forge my name in individual history. I think I can be the best that Britain has ever had. I think people should be scared!”

Sam’s big ambitions are fuelled every day by the loving memory of his mum, Marilyn, who passed away from brain cancer in 2019. She gave him the self-belief to keep pursuing his dreams and Sam won’t stop until he reaches the heights he is aiming for.

“2018, 19 was the hardest period of my life,” said Sam. “I was this bubbly, happy child growing up. I lost that a bit when I was around 15-years-old because of what happened.

"Brain tumours effect a lot more people than people realise. People around me helped to pull me back and helped me think, ‘OK, do this for your mum because she believes in you’. And that belief growing up was so, so important. It fosters that mindset where you can go ‘if I work hard enough, I can be whatever I want to be’.

“Her fight, her resilience, even when she got ill, just inspires me every day to think ‘if she can do it in her hardest time, I can do it. That was just in my head when I was injured. I’m not doing this for myself anymore.

"She believed and she said one day she knew she’d see me on top that podium singing the national anthem and I will work tirelessly so I can do that. Because I know she’s watching me from above. Not having her there [in Paris] was tough but doing it in her name means everything to me.”

SportsAid’s annual One-to-Watch Award is supported by Aldi – the charity’s Official Supermarket Partner. Each of the top 10 shortlisted athletes have received cash boosts and special in-person visits at their training environments to celebrate their achievements.