by Simon Daish
The ceremony held at The Pavilion at the Tower of London saw Will Bayley collect the Bill McGowran Trophy, presented to athletes for outstanding achievement in Paralympic sport.
Speaking after receiving his award Bayley was delighted to see his Paralympic title win not go unnoticed.
“This is such a big award for me personally but also for table tennis and it is amazing to finally get some recognition for the sport” – Will Bayley.
Amazing to Win Paralympic Sportsman of the year at the #SJA2016 awards! With @maxwhitlock1 Winning an award to?? pic.twitter.com/CdeYiyuNnm
— Will Bayley (@WillBayleytt) 15 December 2016
Rio 2016 saw Bayley defeat Israel Pereira Stroh of Brazil by a 3-1 scoreline in the Class 7 final (11-9, 5-11 11-9, 11-4), and after his victory against Stroh the British player was over the moon with his Paralympic campaign success in the summer having missed out on gold four years previously at London 2012 “This is the best feeling in the world” said Bayley in Rio. “I never thought it was going to happen again when I lost in the final in London as table tennis is such an unpredictable sport and to get to a final in two Games is an unbelievable achievement.”
Bayley has also been elected to the Athlete Ambassador programme for the 2018 Commonwealth Games representing England.
Kadeena Cox, who won Paralympic gold medals in both cycling and athletics event was awarded the corresponding Bill McGowran Trophy for a female athlete.
Such a big award for me personally but for the sport it’s amazing to finally start getting the recognition it deserves #SJA2016 pic.twitter.com/LBC3duvvUo
— Will Bayley (@WillBayleytt) 15 December 2016