Top trio savour our Athlete of Year titles after awesome 4J Awards

Saturday 26th October 2024

Award winners in coach, club, volunteer and Officials categories

World champion and Olympic silver medallist Josh Kerr is our 4J Athlete of the Year for 2024.

And our 4J Para Athlete of the Year award has been shared by Samantha Kinghorn and Ben Sandilands – our two Paris 2024 Paralympic champions.

The accolades were announced at our 4J Awards Dinner and presented by Guest of Honour Liz McColgan and Paddy Burns and Chris van der Kuyl of sponsors 4J Studios.

With almost 500 names on the guest lists, the atmosphere at the Hilton Hotel was superb as we celebrated, recognised and acknowledged both key performers in the sport and those who make it happen – volunteers (in various roles).

Laura Muir won our Eric Liddell Olympic/Paralympic Performance trophy in a special year and Olympic discus thrower Nick Percy landed the Dallas Trust Trophy.

Our other athletes recognised were as follows:

Masters Athlete of the Year – Paul Forbes (Edinburgh AC)

U20 Athlete of the Year – Angela McAuslan-Kelly (Aberdeen AAC/Princeton)

U17 Athlete of the Year – Josh Mungin (Kilbarchan AAC)

Congratulations to all our winners in all the categories and indeed to those short-listed, too.

Photos on Facebook by Bobby Gavin

Photo by Bobby Gavin

Head of Performance Mark Pollard believes the high calibre contenders for our two main Athlete awards reflects high standards being achieved by the Class of 2024 guided by good coaches and facilitated, at various points in their career, by the pathway of athletics in Scotland.

‘It has been another stellar year and it is fantastic for everyone to see Scottish athletes making an impact at global level,’ said Mark.

‘That’s happened across disciplines and is heartening in Olympic and Paralympic year. You only have to look at the short-lists to see the breadth and depth of the achievements.

‘I hope that success inspires younger Scots to believe in what we are capable of as a nation and in due course we can see the next generation look to replicate that in the seasons ahead.

‘Josh has had an exceptional year and is a deserving winner of the 4J Athlete of the Year title.

‘He delivered success at a championship level both indoors and outdoor over the past year and the ability to produce his best performances in the moments where it mattered are a credit to his professionalism and dedication to our sport.

‘To have a Scotsman win a World Championship in Scotland at the World Indoors was something truly significant and Josh’s determination to make that achievement happen (coming on the back of the 2-Mile World Indoor Record in America) was so impressive to witness.

‘Going beyond that, to win the silver medal in Paris in what can only be described as a 1500m final ‘for the ages’ was another incredible achievement in a strong season – as he backed up his previous Olympic bronze performance in Tokyo and World Champs gold in 2023.

‘In the 4J Para Athlete of the Year category we had two world class athletes making waves in Paris and ultimately we felt a joint award was the most appropriate outcome.‘Whilst there has clearly been Paralympic success in recent years from Scottish athletes, it was heartening to see athletes at different stages in their journey achieving Paralympic Gold in Paris this summer.

‘Samantha gets better and better each year of her career and is approaching the peak of her powers – demonstrated by her World Record performance earlier in the year as well as the Paralympic Record. Not to forget the ability to deliver five medals across her Paralympic programme.

‘She has become an exceptional performer who consistently delivers – derived from incredible professionalism and dedication to her sport.

‘Meanwhile, Ben excelled in his first Paralympic Games, racing to near perfections in his only event opportunity to deliver gold and a World Record performance.

‘Ben firmly backed up his Para World Champs Gold from 2023 and of course his training partner’s Paralympic 1500m Gold from Tokyo (Owen Miller).

‘At just 21 years old, we are all incredibly excited to see where Ben can go in the sport and what levels he can aspire to should he continue to develop as he has in recent seasons.

‘Reflecting the joint nature of the award, we also couldn’t separate Rodger Harkins and Steve Doig in our Para Performance Coach of the Year award.’