Twenty Athletes Selected for Second Cohort of Powered by Purpose Programme

Initiative designed to empower athletes to make a difference to society returns following success of pilot programme 

The second edition of the Powered by Purpose Programme, delivered by UK Sport in partnership with The True Athlete Project, is about to get under way.

Twenty athletes from a diverse range of sports and backgrounds will benefit from a six-month programme designed to empower them to use their platform as prominent sportspeople to make a difference to society while they are still competing.

Athletes from various Olympic and Paralympic sports, who are at differing stages of their competitive careers, will attend a series of workshops and mentoring sessions to learn how to use their voice and influence for the greater good.

Those taking part will hope to achieve the same levels of success as those enjoyed by the first cohort to complete a pilot version of the programme in 2022-23.

Every one of the participants said they now had greater confidence to make a difference on social issues, felt equipped with tools and resources to address social challenges, and believed their enhanced strengths would enable them to make a social impact.

Those outcomes align strongly with one of the key pillars of UK Sport’s current ten-year strategy, which is to Inspire Positive Change. UK Sport believes athletes can contribute in this way to a happier, prouder and more connected society.

The programme ensures that athletes develop as people as well as performers. They should move forward with a sense of autonomy as they use their platform to make an impact in a context that has meaning to them.

Para swimmer Tully Kearney, who was part of the first cohort, said: “The workshops and incredible guest speakers, as well as the other athletes on the course, really opened my eyes to how much we can actually use our platform to make worthwhile change and how powerful our voice can be.”

A fellow attendee, rower Imogen Grant, said: “What I hadn’t realised is how isolated sports can be from each other. Talking to others who are equally passionate about sport and other causes opened my eyes to how much we all care, and how much we can all help each other achieve.”

The success of the first cohort to complete Powered by Purpose demonstrates how much social impact Olympic and Paralympic athletes can achieve, and adds to the value and viability of the investment made by the British public in elite sport in this country.

*note quotes from The True Athlete Project and Dame Katherine Grainger to be added*

The full list of athletes who comprise the new cohort is as follows:

Jack Hodgson, British Judo

Kurts Adams Rozentals, British Canoeing

Isabel Constance Evans, British Canoeing

Grace Harvey, British Swimming

Lewis Richardson, GB Boxing

Amy Truesdale, GB Taekwondo

Floran Steeples, British Handball

Hannah Saunders, British Handball

Ethan Kirby, UK Athletics

Gina Aitken, British Curling

Bruce Mouat, British Curling

Jake Woods, British Rowing

Rowan McKellar, British Rowing

Ellen Buttrick, British Rowing

Laura Gallagher, British Gymnastics

Louis Rolfe, British Triathlon

Grace Balsdon, GB Hockey

Victoria Kingstone, Archery GB

Daisy Mumby, British Volleyball Federation

Maddy Anderson, Royal Yachting Association