The award’s legacy is extraordinary, with its Hall of Fame boasting athletes such as Tom Daley OBE, Hollie Arnold MBE, Jodie Williams, and Alex Yee MBE.
Together, past winners have amassed 136 senior medals across the Olympic and Paralympic Games, World Championships, European Championships, and Commonwealth Games, firmly establishing themselves as household names in British sport.
Summer, who hails from Surrey, developed her passion for judo after meeting Karina Bryant, a bronze medalist from the London Olympics, when she visited Summer’s judo club in Camberley.
She recalled: “My older brother Scott did judo, so instead of going to my gymnastics I was stuck watching his class on Tuesday nights. My parents were like, ‘You would really like it,’ but I was really hesitant at first, saying that I’m not doing it.
“I ended up starting in 2012. A girl from my judo club, Karina Bryant, won a bronze medal in London. She came back to the club and did a little Q&A for our summer fair. I saw this big shiny medal and thought, ‘I want in.’”
“So we asked her some questions, then my parents asked me if I wanted to do judo; I said that if they bought me a judo kit. I was a bit inspired by the Olympic dream.”
Since that initial spark, Summer has never looked back and is now ranked as the world’s fifth-best junior judoka in the -48kg category, as well as second in Europe, boasting a 70% win rate across 27 matches this year.
Her achievements in the Junior European Cups circuit include two gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze. Upon reflection, she considers her victory at the European Cup in Berlin to be her best performance.
“At the time, I was still pretty high up the world rankings at number eight, but the girl who got silver was number seven so she was higher than me.
“One of the girls who got bronze, she won the Europeans after. Being on the podium with players who are obviously good – and at the top of the podium in that situation – definitely gave me a lot of confidence.”
What makes Summer’s success even more extraordinary is her ability to balance an elite sporting career with her academic pursuits. Currently in her second year of a biology degree at the University of Birmingham, she juggles a demanding training schedule with university commitments.
She said: “I’ve always been academic, but obviously balancing a hard degree like that with a full-time training schedule is very tiring.
“You just make sure you’re doing all the little things like eating and sleeping well, and making sure you’re stretching and doing prehab before your sessions.
“And in those sessions, you have to make the most of it and not be training for the sake of training, but with a sense of purpose.”
Summer’s ultimate ambition is representing Team GB at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and the Brisbane 2032 Games. Her timeline aligns perfectly, as her university studies will conclude just as LA qualification ramps up.
She shared: “The plan is to get uni done so when the time comes to try and qualify for LA I can fully focus on the judo. With every sportsperson, the number one goal is to be the best in the world.
“I want to qualify, compete and win in LA and Brisbane.”
Additionally, the 2026 Commonwealth Games is on her radar, which recently announced the inclusion of judo among the 10 sports in Glasgow.
She said: “It’s really exciting because in the Commonwealths where there are fewer nations, England and Scotland do really well.
“So hopefully we get a strong team and we can get the gold, plus you’d probably go into it as one of the favourites too.
“I’m currently the best in my weight group in the country so hopefully that doesn’t change in the next two years and that is another goal for me to look to.”
“I’m hoping I will win the British Championships at the end of the year because it’ll be my third time back-to-back.
“I won the juniors and seniors in 2022 and 2023, to win the seniors for the first time being in the proper age group for it, it’ll be good.
“You can’t be too sure, but you’d hope I would still do it after two years in a row!”
SportsAid’s One-to-Watch Award, supported by Aldi, will announce its winner in December. Each finalist will receive cash boosts and in-person visits to celebrate their achievements.
Her fellow nominees include:
SportsAid has been a key supporter of Summer’s journey, offering financial assistance and personal development workshops. The charity typically awards £1,000 to athletes, funded through partnerships, trusts, and fundraising efforts.
As Summer prepares for her next challenges, her combination of talent, dedication, and resilience makes her one to watch—not just for this particular award but for the future of British judo.
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