Over 800 young athletes from across London and the South East have been awarded financial and training grants worth over £400,000, from the GLL Sport Foundation, making it one of the largest independent athlete talent support schemes in the region.

The successful applicants were announced at a VIP event held at the landmark BT Tower in Central London on 16th March 2010.

Sally Gunnell Patron of the GLL Sport Foundation made the announcement, accompanied by Foundation Ambassadors from Athletics, Chris Tomlinson and Perri Shakes-Drayton, and Paraylmpic Ambassadors Alexandra Rickman and Dervis Konuralp.

The sponsored athletes represent a broad range of Olympic, Paralympic, DeafOlympic Special Olympic sporting disciplines ranging from swimming and athletics through to boxing, kayaking and wheelchair basketball.

Each will benefit from funding of up to £1,500 to be spent on training, travel and equipment during the next 12 months.

The successful applicants had to demonstrate that they live or train within a London or South East borough in which charitable social enterprise , GLL and partners operate sports and leisure facilities. They were also required to show long-term potential to succeed at International level.

The talented award winners include Dawud Izza from Hammersmith and Fulham who recently won the British National Taekwondo Championships. Dawud comments: "Support from the GLL Sport Foundation relieves the massive financial burden and worries about the costs of training and competitions."

Swimmer Daniel Lee Fogg from Waltham Forest will also be supported this year. Currently ranked number two for both the 800 and 1500 metres Freestyle, Daniel adds, "I am in deep, heavy training, extra funding will help stabilise my lifestyle and help support me - as my parents have been propping me up for the past four years."

Peter Bundey, GLL Sport Foundation Chair, said; "The aim of the Foundation is to provide practical and tangible support for talented young athletes. After the first two years of these awards, it has become clear that the support given to these young athletes is having a tremendous impact. The success of the scheme has already surpassed our expectations and we have been able to promote these young people as role models within their communities. This is very important to us and we will continue to positively support this message.

"I would like to thank our partnerships with numerous local authority and public sector partners, SportsAid and all our sponsors who raise funding for the scheme."

The GLL Sport Foundation was founded in 2008 with Sally Gunnell OBE as Patron. It plans to give in excess of £1.5m to young athletes in selected areas of London and the South of England in the run up to 2012. Further information on the Foundation and details on how to apply for the next round of funding can be found at www.gllsportfoundation.org