'Strong Girl Squad' founder is a BBC Unsung Hero

Kristen Ingraham-Morgan with her BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire "Unsung Hero" trophy

A coach behind a weightlifting group for girls has won a BBC Sports Personality Unsung Hero award.

Kristen Ingraham-Morgan, who founded Strong Girl Squad, in Lincoln, was named the regional winner for East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

She said her project focused on showing teenage girls that the gym "can be a safe, fun and encouraging place".

The nomination was written by 17-year-old Zeph, who began attending the sessions in 2021. They said: "Kristen just gives everything to us and this entire environment helps uplift us."

Ms Ingraham-Morgan said she had seen "miraculous" changes in the girls involved in the project.

"This environment gives them an opportunity to find their strength," she added.

Ms Ingraham-Morgan (centre) with members of Strong Girl Squad (from left) Cece, Jess, Zeph, Mimi, Summer and Ellis

Strong Girl Squad was founded in April 2022. Since then, more than 350 girls have attended the sessions, with 80% of them receiving free school meals, or in care, or considered vulnerable.

Ms Ingraham-Morgan also runs weightlifting workshops for girls at 10 schools across Lincolnshire.

Three other clubs are now affiliated to Strong Girl Squad – in Bury St Edmunds, Blackpool and Portsmouth.

Ms Ingraham-Morgan has been invited to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony on 17 December.

She is one of several Unsung Heroes from regions around the country who could be named the overall winner when the programme is broadcast live.

"I love these girls so much – I am so proud of them," she said.

"If accepting this award, and if going to Salford and getting my hair and make-up done, tells this story – their stories – to more people, I will have to get my good shoes out of the vault.

"I could not love them any harder if they were mine."

The ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One and available to watch on iPlayer.

LN CrossFit in Lincoln, where Strong Girl Squad is based, will be live-streaming the ceremony and inviting their members, and those involved with the project, to attend.

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