Second Gazette Sports Personality victory for super skier Amy

Amy crossed the line in first position after a closely-fought reader vote against three other candidates to be crowned the 2018 Sports Personality of the Year, a title she also took two years ago.

The 13-year-old, from Widdrington Village, has continued to enjoy success on the slopes since her 2016 victory, picking up many medals at junior level both at home and abroad.

Highlights of 2018 included second place in the girls’ U14 slalom at the Welsh Alpine Championships in Champery, Switzerland, in Januray.

That was closely followed in March by victory in the girls’ U14 slalom event at the Scottish Children’s Championships in the Cairngorms.

She was also selected to ski for England Schools in Norway. Unfortunately, the KEVI schoolgirl broke her leg in October while training in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, but she has now recovered and is determined to get back racing again.

She was delighted to receive the backing of the Gazette readers, as her latest triumph was announced at last Thursday night’s Alnwick and District Sports Council Awards held at the Duchess’s Community High School.

Mum Helen Maltby was very proud of her daughter’s success, saying she was ‘living the dream’ of her dad David, who received his first pair of skis on his 21st birthday and now coaches the sport.

Also nominated for the Gazette accolade was Cyril Cox, who stepped down from his role as secretary of Alnwick Town in 2018 after a 50-year association with the club; rower Sam Courty, from Alnwick, who competed in the GB eight, finishing fourth in the World Cup in Austria; and Clive Kennedy-Burn, also from Alnwick, who won his age group in the Ironman 70.3 World and European Championships in 2017 and 2018.