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A young athlete from Blackwood has been awarded for using sport as an outlet to boost mental health and wellbeing.

Caitlin Seaborne, 18, received the Young Health Champion award at the Youth Sport Trust Young Changemaker Awards, which were held in London last month.

Caitlin has used sports as an avenue to deal with the mental health struggles she faced during the Covid lockdown and following the loss of her grandmother to cancer. 

“The award was a bit of a shock to me at the start… I’m just proud to see how far I’ve come over the past two years,” said Caitlin, who has been helping in the community as part of the Youth Sport Trust Welsh Young Ambassador Programme in recent months.

She continued: “My job in this role is to pass on my knowledge and help within the community – it’s a brilliant program to be a part of.”

Having grown up playing a variety of sports, Caitlin has found her passion in football and track and field events.

She added: “I’ve been playing ever since I was young. A part of me has always wanted to be involved in physical activity.”

Caitlin was presented with her award by London 2012 Olympic gold medallist Dame Katherine Grainger.

Dame Katherine said: “Caitlin’s story is inspiring, humbling and quite emotional. She’s only 18 and she’s faced a lot of life challenges but she’s incredibly modest about what she’s done.

“She’s ambitious about the future and what she wants to achieve but goes about things with incredible humility.”

Caitlin is a double school’s Welsh Champion in both shot and hammer and has represented Wales schools’ football.

She was also the Sport Caerphilly Awards’ Inclusive Coach of the year winner last year and was shortlisted for Volunteer of the Year.