Edward Mills Wins In September
Edward Mills, the 8-year-old boy who became the youngest person to ever climb the Old Man of Hoy off the coast of Orkney, has won the September Laureus Sporting Moment of the Month public vote. Edward completed the climb to raise funds for the Climbers Against Cancer charity as his late mother, Bekki Christian, suffered from terminal breast cancer.
With the support of his coaches Ben West and Cailean Harker, the talented young climber took the record from previous holder Ollie Buckle, who was ten. It took Edward nearly five hours to reach the top of the famous 450ft sea stack, where he wrote a personal message in the book which is kept there. Edward’s late mother watched her son’s remarkable and emotional achievement from a ferry off the coast of Orkney.
Edward becomes the seventh Nominee for the Laureus Sporting Moment of the Year, joining March winners and ski jumping legends Sven Hannawald and Kamil Stoch, April winner Doddie Weir, Rochdale football star Joe Thompson, who won in May, June’s winner, Chinese double-amputee Xia Boyu who climbed Mt Everest, Springboks historic first black Test captain Siya Kolisi, who won the July public vote and Mexican football fan Gilberto Martinez who won the August public vote.
Each month, from March to December, the public can select their favourite Moment from a shortlist of four videos, chosen with oversight from the sporting legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy. Monthly winners will then go head-to-head in a final public vote, with the winner being announced at the 2019 Laureus Awards Ceremony.