Richard Brown

Richard`s sister, Jo, was a talented sports woman and she had gone to China to support the GB team at the Beijing Olympics. Whilst she was there she died in a fall. Her death was devastating for the family but Rich wanted to do something positive so he set up The Joanna Brown Trust. The aim of it is to encourage involvement in sport. To provide people with an opportunity to experience sport and excel in it. 100% of the money it receives goes directly to the cause and sporting projects. Richard has worked without pay for 3 years and has raised over £90,000. The Trust provides talented young athletes from the UK with financial support to help them excel in their chosen sports; many of these are future British Olympic hopefuls. The trust has also funded projects abroad, such the construction of a dormitory at an activity centre for children in Mumbai, India. Rich not only runs the entire Trust, he has challenged himself. For example, he is currently training for the New York marathon because Jo was training to run it when she died. Everyone that meets Rich is amazed by his ability to turn a tragedy into a source of inspiration for others. He is completely dedicated to keeping his sister`s memory alive by allowing others to excel in sport the way that she did. The London Olympics will mark the 4 year anniversary of Jo`s death and being a torchbearer would be such a powerful symbol of his sister and all that he has achieved to promote participation and excellence in sport.