Yasmin Liverpool: "SportsAid made the biggest difference in my career"

Her competitive spirit soon saw her hunting for a new challenge and she identified the Big Half in London, a 13.1 mile course from Tower Bridge to Cutty Sark, as her target….with SportsAid being the motivating factor!

“It was fifty times further than I'd ever raced before!” said Yasmin – who finished the race in 2:01:10. “It was a very challenging, humbling yet rewarding experience. The energy of the crowd helped carry me through the last few kilometres, including a small kid with a Mario Kart inspired "tap to power up" mushroom sign. It was especially encouraging to see Toyin from the SportsAid team too.

“After the race, I felt physically quite battered but mentally very fulfilled because I really believe in the cause I was running for. Looking back at my sports career, SportsAid made the biggest difference in terms of impact, so being able to carry that forward was very special to me. I look forward to continuing to work with SportsAid in the future and contributing in many different ways.”

Yasmin was a beneficiary of SportsAid’s support in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Since calling time on her track career, she has joined the charity’s National Awards Committee and also supports its work in creating more accessible and inclusive talent pathways through Sport England’s Talent Inclusion Series. She used the Big Half to shine a spotlight on SportsAid’s work and also raised over £1,500.   

“I wanted to run for SportsAid because they've done a lot to support me during my career,” she said. “I was able to invest more into my sport – such as participating in elite training camps and getting expert physio support. This gave me an edge which enhanced my ability to compete for Great Britain internationally at the highest levels. But it’s a lot more than the financial sponsorship they provide. 

“I wanted to shed a spotlight on the broader work that SportsAid does through my campaign. They gave me a platform to share my opinions about what we can do to address the gaps and disparities that exist in sport. I spoke at law firm Hogan Lovells about how we can improve on the growth of women's sport in the UK, and most recently, I participated in Sport England's Talent Inclusion Series.”

During her training preparations, Yasmin regularly posted on her social media channels about SportsAid’s impact on her sporting career and beyond, as well as writing blogs on themes close to the charity such as talent inclusion and the role of parents and caregivers. She particularly wanted to highlight the family unit and how crucial her mum and dad had been throughout her athletics journey.   

"My mum used to drive me to almost every single training session and back, sometimes she'd bring me dinner after sessions as well,” said Yasmin - who now works in responsible AI and data ethics. “She came to pretty much all my races. My dad was actually there at my very first international for GB, which was quite special because it was in Sweden, and we only found out I had qualified a week out. 

“It was really nice to have him there with me. I think my dad in particular took a bit of time to come around, because at first he had some questions around whether elite sport would be a viable career path and how safe it would be. The thing that made me realise he'd come around is that he started uploading all of my races to this YouTube channel, so I think he's on board now!” 

Yasmin has a very close relationship with her sister Layal who has her own incredible accolades to boast. She has a PhD [Virology and Immunology] from the University of Oxford and is a science journalist who released a book during the summer entitled ‘Systemic: How Racism is Making Us Ill’. Yasmin, who graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of Warwick, insists there’s no sibling rivalry between the pair as they prefer to support each other in a joint effort for success. 

“We’re like best friends,” she said. “We've never really felt in competition with each other. I think we've both done really different things. I went more towards elite sport, and she went towards science and academia. She actually did run the London Marathon, so she's run the furthest out of the two of us. We have gone on the occasional run together….that's where we were able to meet in the middle!” 

A huge thank you to Yasmin for the support she has shown towards SportsAid and using her platform to promote the charity! You can still donate to Yasmin’s fundraising page for the Big Half by clicking here.