Paula Dunn MBE honoured as TAFi Awards 2026 celebrate athlete successes
England Athletics were honoured to again sponsor the second Track and Field Inclusion (TAFi) Awards, which brought the athletics community together at The Ivy Club in London’s West End for an evening of celebration.
Five-time Commonwealth Games medallist turned trailblazing coach Paula Dunn MBE was presented
with the TAFi Recognition Award.
Under Paula's leadership, the GB Paralympic track and field team returned from Rio 2016 with its biggest-ever medal haul of 33 medals. She was awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to athletics.
TAFi co-founders, Joel Campbell and Michael Facey said Dunn was an inspiration and someone who embodied the spirit of the Awards.
“As we saw and heard in the evening, Dunn has been an inspiration her whole career, we're just glad to be able to honour that endeavor with this recognition.
“A fantastic ambassador for British track and field, her influence is felt far and wide and we know she does everything with her heart fully invested.
“We’d like to take the chance to congratulate all the winners and those that were nominated for a 2026 TAFi Award. Everyone has done their bit and we'll continue to celebrate that.”
The ‘Recognition Award’ is one of the TAFi legacy honours, which celebrate lasting contributions to the sport. Last year’s recipient was broadcaster and former sprinter Jeanette Kwakye.
Guests from across the sport filled the room, including England Athletics CEO Chris Jones, and the evening was hosted by returning host Jordan Jarrett-Bryan, the Channel 4 News sports correspondent, alongside Olympian and television personality Montell Douglas.
Douglas, a former British 100m record holder and new Personal Best Foundation ambassador, took over from last year’s co-host Donna Fraser OBE. Between them, the hosts kept the evening warm and lively as athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers took the stage to collect their awards.
This year’s ceremony introduced a new category, ‘Technical Official of the Year’, recognising the officials whose work makes competition possible.
Awards were also presented in the following categories: Para-Athlete of the Year (Male/Female), Athlete of the Year (Male/Female), Breakthrough Young Star of the Year (Male/Female), Coach of the Year, Unsung Hero, the Lloyd Cowan Bursary and the TAFi Recognition Award.
Full list of winners
- Technical Official of the Year: Beryl Clay
- Breakthrough Athlete of the Year (Male): Bronson Hearn-Smith
- Breakthrough Athlete of the Year (Female): Charlotte Henrich
- Para-Athlete of the Year (Male): Zac Shaw
- Para-Athlete of the Year (Female): Maddie Down
- Athlete of the Year (Female): Jazmin Sawyers
- Athlete of the Year (Male): Josh Kerr
- Coach of the Year: Paul Wilson
- Unsung Hero of the Year: Mark Shearman MBE
- Lloyd Cowan Bursary Award: The Ron Pickering Memorial Fund
- TAFi Recognition Award: Paula Dunn MBE