Wales New Year Honours: Rugby great Gerald Davies knighted

Sabrina Fortune – who won gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the women’s F20 shot put – said she was “over the moon” to become a Member of the British Empire (MBE).

“I wanted to run around the kitchen and call every single person,” she said.

Fortune, from Mold, Flintshire, is acknowledged as the world’s leading women’s F20 shot putter, having won the world title three times, and has been recognised for her athletic achievement.

The 27-year-old set a new world record in Birmingham in July, as well as in Kobe, Japan.

She then won gold in Paris with her first throw, breaking her world record.

“I was told I’d never amount to anything, that I’d never become anything. So to have people look up to you is an honour,” she said.

When she heard about the MBE she “just wanted to cry”, and said it was important athletes were recognised in the New Year Honours.

“I train six times a week,” she said. “To get this a medal at the end of the year is just something that pushes you.”