TEEN BMX BIKER ON TRACK TO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN GLASGOW

– Belfast athlete awarded £500 bursary from the Mary Peters Trust and Hughes Insurance –

Ethan Abbot, a 15-year-old BMX rider from Belfast has been awarded a £500 bursary from the Mary Peters Trust, as part of an ongoing partnership with Hughes Insurance. The bursary programme, now in its third year will award a total of ten young athletes from across Northern Ireland throughout 2023.

Ethan is gearing up to represent Ireland at the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow this week, competing in the boys 15 and boys 15-16 cruiser competitions.

Lady Mary Peters said: “We are delighted to partner with Hughes Insurance again this year to award ten exceptionally talented young athletes with funding to help further their sporting careers. Ethan is a fantastic example of the young sporting talent that we have here in Northern Ireland, and the diverse range of sports my Trust is able to support. Having only taken to the track four years ago, Ethan’s success this early on is outstanding. We’re delighted to support this funding to help him further his career.”

Ethan found his passion for the sport just four years ago at the age of ten, when his mum registered him and his brothers for a week’s introduction course run by Lisburn BMX Club.

Ethan commented, “I had a fantastic week – that’s how it all started. The following Christmas I got a BMX bike and I was totally hooked. Even my mum has a BMX bike now and joins me on the track from time to time.”

Ethan is now a full member of Lisburn BMX club and trains on their track regularly – the only national standard BMX track in Northern Ireland. In preparation for the World Championships, Ethan has recently competed in the 2023 National Championship race in Cork last month and is also currently competing in the Irish BMX National series which runs across the course of six months.

 Ethan added, “I can’t wait for the World Championships, I spent months preparing. Just last year I injured myself twice. I fractured my wrist and had to have surgery which meant taking some time off from training, but I was allowed to get back on the bike in January this year. It has been hard work getting my fitness levels back up so to represent Ireland just eight months later is a fantastic feeling. I’m really happy to have been selected amongst nine other incredibly talented athletes for the bursary – it feels cool to acknowledged by Lady Mary, an Olympian, and have the chance to put Northern Ireland’s BMX community on the map.”

Emma Haughian, Marketing Manager at Hughes Insurance said: “It is a pleasure to continue to support the Mary Peters Trust for the third year running. Our bursary programme is a tremendous success and it’s wonderful to see the difference we have made to young people. Ethan is a credit to himself, his family and Northern Ireland and we wish him every success in his future.”

The Mary Peters Trust is the only province-wide organisation to provide support to young athletes from all recognised sports. Along with Hughes Insurance, it is also supported by Alchemy Technology Services.

The remaining bursary recipients will be announced throughout 2023. To keep up to date with the selection, follow @hughesinsuranceni on social media. For more information on Hughes Insurance visit hughesinsurance.co.uk and for more on the Mary Peters Trust, visit marypeterstrust.org