Children’s charity Action Medical Research has raised £245,000 to help save and change children’s lives at its annual Champions of CycleSport Dinner, with the help of some of the biggest names in cycling.
The star-studded event at London Evolution on Thursday, 24 November, saw high-profile supporters including Alex Dowsett, Gee Atherton and Nico Roche take to the red carpet alongside up-and-coming stars like Josh Tarling, Pfeiffer Georgi and Noah Hobbs.
Also showing their support for Action Medical Research were Dani Rowe MBE, Rochelle Gilmore, Hannah Walker, seven-times Paralympic medallist Jody Cundy CBE and Jon Mould, along with Russ and Dean Downing, Joanna Rowsell MBE, Ben Swift and Yanto Barker. Legends Sean Kelly and Sean Yates were on the guestlist while regular hosts Matt Stephens and Rebecca Charlton helped to lead proceedings.
The Champions of CycleSport Dinner was supported by Garmin, who deliver innovative GPS technology across aviation, marine, fitness, outdoor recreation, tracking and mobile apps, accountancy and business advisory firm BDO, and Lucky Saint, the UK's number one dedicated alcohol-free beer brand.
“This is always such a great event for a very important cause,” says recently retired professional road racing cyclist Alex Dowsett, who was diagnosed with the rare blood condition haemophilia as a toddler and is the only able-bodied elite athlete with the condition.
“Haemophilia treatment has progressed so much over the past 30 years, thanks in part to the work done by charities like Action Medical Research, which means that the future is very bright for haemophiliacs, including my daughter who is a carrier.
“And they are currently striving to develop treatments and cures for a number of rare diseases which may affect a very small number of people but when you look at them collectively, it’s a chance to have a colossal impact.”
Downhill mountain bike champion Gee Atherton urged people to support the charity which was founded 70 years ago by Duncan Guthrie in a bid to find a cure for polio. A decade later, the first UK polio vaccines were introduced and Action Medical Research has gone on to fund some of the most significant medical breakthroughs in recent history, helping to save thousands of children’s lives and change many more.
“As well as funding some incredible research that means so much to so many, the charity also put on a great programme of sportives throughout the year which makes it the perfect fit to celebrate the best of cycling,” says Gee.
Speaker Sophie Lennox spoke movingly of her battle with epilepsy from the age of 10, sometimes enduring up to 20 seizures a day. At the age of 15 she had pioneering brain surgery led by surgeon Richard Selway, part of a team at King’s College led by Dr Antonio Valentin working on groundbreaking research funded by Action Medical Research.
"It turns out that the last seizure I ever experienced was one hour before that surgery and here I am seven years later,” says Sophie. "If you would have told me all that time ago that simple things like having a shower or crossing the road would no longer be a risk to life, I would have thought I’d won the lottery.
“In 2015 my life was more than likely saved, at the very least given back to me, by the work funded by Action Medical Research.”
Items in the live auction on the night helped to boost the total, including a signed Tour de France yellow jersey from Tadej Pogačar, a ride out in Majorca with Sean Kelly, a hand-built Passoni Titanio Classica Disco and an FZED driver training programme in New Zealand.
Action Medical Research is a UK-wide children’s charity which funds desperately needed research to tackle the diseases that devastate the lives of so many of our children. It has been funding medical breakthroughs since it began in 1952 including helping to introduce the first polio vaccines in the UK, developing the use of ultrasound in pregnancy and testing the rubella vaccine.
It is now driving forward children’s research in the fight against COVID-19 as well as funding research into conditions including asthma, prematurity, meningitis, cerebral palsy, brain cancer and some rare and distressing conditions.
To find out more, visit https://action.org.uk/
ENDS
Notes for editors:
For a selection of images from the 2022 Champions of CycleSport Dinner, click here
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Action Medical Research is the leading UK-wide charity dedicated to saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For 70 years we’ve helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of people. Our research has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths. But we urgently need to develop more new treatments and cures for sick babies and children and we can’t do it without you.
Join our fight for little lives today. Charity reg. nos 208701 and SC039284