Promising British heptathlete Niamh Emerson (coach: David Feeney) has been shortlisted in the top 10 by SportsAid for its prestigious ‘One-to-Watch’ award.

The 17-year-old accompanies nine other rising stars on the shortlist following a selection process which began with over 1100 athletes, all of whom have been supported by the charity in 2016.

Emerson was nominated for the award by British Athletics on the back of a successful 2016, with two heptathlon personal best scores – the first of which, 5,815, eclipsed Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s youth record, whilst four singular event bests from seven disciplines at the European Youth Championships saw the Amber Valley athlete revise her best to 5,919, a score good enough to secure European youth bronze for Britain’s medal table-topping team at the championships.

Elsewhere, the rising star showcased her strength in the high jump with victory at Loughborough’s international meet by way of a lifetime best clearance of 1.89m, whilst there was also a rostrum place at Birmingham’s senior British Championships as she secured bronze with 1.82m in the same event.

Speaking on making the shortlist, Emerson said: “It is really good to be nominated for such an amazing prize; getting recognition is really good and it has been such a good year for me.

“SportsAid’s support has been a massive help from the financial side of things. But it’s also inspiring because people are investing time and money in you and it encourages you to keep training hard. I need to take it step-by-step and next year I am looking at the European Under-20 Championships in Italy – that’s the main goal.”

Alex Yee (Kenneth Pike) – 9th in the 5000m at the IAAF World Junior Championships – has also been shortlisted for the award following a nomination from British Triathlon. The World Junior Duathlon champion has enjoyed a successful year whilst continuing to showcase his ability as a talent multi-sport athlete.

The shortlist is due to be reduced to three athletes on Thursday 17 November, with the award, now in its 11th year having been launched in 2006, then set to be presented to one of the final trio at the charity’s 40th anniversary SportsBall in London on 24 November.

More information about the SportsAid’s SportsBall can be found via: http://www.sportsaid.org.uk/events/sportsball-2016/