We were reminded last night of an inspirational young man who became a global sensation after his moment of defiance and glory earlier this year.
Bailey Matthews is a nine-year-old boy from Worksop, Nottingham. He suffers from cerebral palsy which reduces his mobility and motor skills.
However, Bailey refuses to let his condition set limits on his life, and earlier this year he took part in a triathlon in which was made up of a 100m swim, a 4km bike ride and 1.3km run.
The inspiring video of the final stretch of his run became a global hit and racked up more than 80million views online.
Bailey said in the video clip: “I just felt it’s gonna end soon so let’s push it a bit harder.”
He then let go of his walking aid and ran the final few metres of the race on his own.
Bailey continued: “And then I fell over and then I got back up again. I finished!”
The video of Bailey’s achievement immediately spread all across the internet and he became an inspiration to people all around the world.
Last night, Bailey was honoured at the BBC Sport’s Personality of the Year Awards ceremony in Belfast.
Irish pop superstar Niall Horan took to the stage with British gold medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington to award Bailey the Helen Rollason Award for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity.
Horan and Adlington were visibly humbled as Bailey made his way on to the stage unaided to receive his award.
The whole of the audience, which was made up of sporting legends including Rory McIlroy and Martin O’Neill, gave Bailey a standing ovation. The youngster stole the show with his interview as he told the audience of superstars: “I think you can stop cheering now.”
He then revealed his next sporting goal is to achieve five triathlons.
Bailey’s award was one of the highlights of the prestigious ceremony. The main award was won by Andy Murray, after he helped Great Britain win their first Davis Cup in 79 years.
Take a look at Bailey Matthews receiving his award.
