Paula Dunn has been awarded the BT Sport Action Woman Lifetime Achievement Award on an evening which celebrated women’s sport in the UK during 2021.

Dunn, the Para Athletics Head Coach at UK Athletics, has guided the athletics team to record medal tallies during her tenure in the role, including 33 medals at the Rio Paralympic Games and 24 at the pandemic disrupted Tokyo 2020 Games, which she hails as her finest achievement in the sport.

She began working at UKA in 2001 and has worked in multiple roles at the organisation including Talent Director, which saw her interact with some of the now highest-profile athletes in the sport.

Following a spell working in the Paralympic programme under previous Head Coach Peter Eriksson, including being a key part of the team at the London 2012 Games, Dunn was promoted to the role of Para Athletics Head Coach at the end of 2012, and what followed was a golden decade for Paralympic sport in the UK.

This all came after a glittering sprinting career of her own which saw her win European and Commonwealth medals, including relay gold and 100m silver in Edinburgh at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. Coached by Jim Harris, the Trafford athlete was one of the top sprinters in the 80s and 90s and is still highly ranked in the UK all-time standings over 100m and 200m, 10^th and 12^th respectively.

You can watch the full BT Sport Action Woman Awards via the link below. Paula receives her reward starting at 54:00 minutes.