Amy Williams: Olympian praises Manx talent ahead of sports awards

Amy Williams could not attend the 2020 event because of the pandemic

Celebrating sporting success is "a really magical thing" for athletes, the guest of honour at the Isle of Man Sports Awards has said.

Amy Williams MBE won gold in the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver competing in the skeleton event.

The British Olympian said it was important to acknowledge achievements at all stages.

The awards, due to held at the Villa Marina in Douglas on Thursday evening, mark the success of Manx athletes.

Ms Williams had originally been due to attend the 2020 event before it became a virtual ceremony due of the coronavirus pandemic.

Among the athletes in the running for the top awards this year are Tour de France green jersey winning cyclist Mark Cavendish and equestrian Yasmin Ingham.

Amy Williams became Britain's first individual gold winner at the Winter Olympic in 30 years

Speaking ahead of this year's event, Ms Williams said the island had "a lot of sporting talent", adding: "You can see the passion of the people that work over here."

She said while the coronavirus pandemic had made it difficult for sportsmen and women in recent years, it had not "stopped people performing", and Manx athletes had "still managed to succeed and do really, really well".

It demonstrated that there were "always barriers out there and it's how you overcome them, how you turn a negative into a positive, how you flip it over and still achieve and still perform", she said.

The awards ceremony was a "great" opportunity to be able to "pat everyone on the back, to say... you guys are awesome, you've done really well", she added.