Sam Reardon: "I know my mum is screaming down heaven cheering me on"

Over the following fortnight, Sam seized his opportunity to win bronze medals as part of the men’s and mixed 4x400m quartets – an achievement which, two months on, has not truly sunk in.

The incredible exploits which unfolded during the summer have led to Sam being shortlisted in the top 10 for SportsAid’s prestigious One-to-Watch Award. 

The annual Award, launched in 2006, recognises Britain’s brightest young sporting prospects and has previously been won by Olympic champions Tom Daley and Alex Yee and Paralympic gold medallist Hollie Arnold.

The top 10 athletes have been selected from around 1,000 rising stars, supported by SportsAid, across more than 60 different sports in 2024.

“The word I’ve used to describe it [Paris Olympics] most is whirlwind,” he said. “It was a really surreal experience, everything I’ve ever dreamed of at the biggest event you can do. I still can’t really believe it happened.

“I had come to terms with the fact I wasn’t going and I was living a pretty chilled life in the build-up.

"In some respects, that probably helped, but it also meant there was a whole lot of emotion packed into a short space of time, which added a lot of stress.

“But I’m so proud of how it happened. On the second weekend, I had about 20 people there and to show them the medal was a really special moment. 

"The medal ceremony music still sends a shiver down my spine. It makes you think ‘wow, it was real’ and brings all those memories back.”

Sam’s Olympic performances were ‘the icing on the cake’ after a rollercoaster season which he almost called time on before it had truly got going.

The final session of a winter camp in South Africa resulted in a torn hamstring, denying him the chance to defend his national indoor title and compete at a home World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

The keen artist and budding chef’s comeback did not initially go to plan and he admits his ‘love of the sport was not there’ after some disappointing initial results.

It took a stunning Diamond League display in the capital to get the buzz back and give him the belief to aim for the very top.

“I was going into that race wanting to win, I wanted to prove something to the public, the selectors and myself,” said Sam.

“I was super nervous beforehand, I was sick, but my coach got me back in the right headspace. When I crossed the line and looked at the clock, I genuinely couldn’t believe it.

“It was a perfectly executed race. Everything fell into place. 44.7s was something I had never imagined, it wasn’t even a target going into the season.

“It was one of the proudest moments of my career and provided a huge sense of relief after all the effort and mental torment.

“I’ve always seen myself as an 800m runner who tries the 400 but this year we’ve focused fully on the 400m. That (Diamond League meet) was the switch moment where I thought ‘maybe I need to look at myself as a 400m runner’.

“Looking ahead, I want to carry on doing both. There are only a handful of people in the world who have gone sub-45 in the 400m and sub-1.45 in the 800m and I want to be one of them.

“I want to be the first person in Britain to do that and etch my name as Britain’s best-ever combined 400m and 800m runner.”

Sam has been provided with crucial financial support by SportsAid over the last two years – with the charity also offering personal development opportunities through workshops and visits. 

The typical value of a SportsAid award is £1,000 with money generated through a combination of commercial partnerships, trust and charitable funds, and fundraising activities.

Sam’s goals may seem ambitious but he has no doubt he can fulfil them. 

It is a mindset shaped and instilled by his mother, Marilyn, who passed away from brain cancer in 2019 and whose memory continues to fuel her youngest son’s achievements.

“She is the biggest inspiration I’ve ever had,” he said. “The way she lived her life, especially when she got ill, she was always positive.

“When we were struggling, she was the one looking after us even though she was the one going through it.

“She always used to come to my track meets, she was the loudest person there cheering me on.

“I remember watching London 2012 with her screaming at the TV, especially on Super Saturday, when there are photos of me replicating the Mo-bot.

“I was saying ‘I want to be there one day’ and she believed I could do that. She said she couldn’t wait to see me on that podium singing the national anthem.

“Having that belief growing up was massive. Having someone you could say anything to and she’d say ‘it’s possible’ was huge, and I still carry that with me to this day.

“I set big goals and I work towards them. I want to be on that top step by myself with the anthem playing. It would be the proudest moment of my life and I have the motivation to do that.

“It’s tough when you both had that dream and one of you can’t be there to see it. It really is a gut punch.

“But I know she’ll be screaming heaven down cheering me on and seeing her smile in the faces of her brothers and sisters in Paris this summer meant so much to me.

“When I’m struggling, I remember I’m not just doing it for me, I’m doing it for her.”

SportsAid’s annual One-to-Watch Award is being supported by Aldi – the charity’s Official Supermarket Partner. The winner of this year’s Award will be revealed in December with each of the top 10 receiving cash boosts and special in-person visits at their training environments to celebrate their achievements.    

Photo Credit – with thanks to Getty Images (via British Athletics)