How Caroline Dubois Defeated The Odds To Follow In Daniel's Footsteps

I said that I was a boy, I didn’t say I was a girl because they didn’t take girls in Repton. Because my brother was boxing at the gym we couldn’t go to another gym… we just said that I was a boy.

Caroline Dubois’ journey to winning the 2019 Young Sports Personality of the Year award has been fraught with difficulty despite her coming from a family with a rich boxing heritage. 

Her brother Daniel is one of the rising unbeaten stars of the heavyweight division and, as the older sibling, he provided a gateway into the sport for his sister.

Raised in London, Caroline had to beg her father to take her to her brother’s gym, where she pretended to be a boy called Colin just so she could learn to box. 

The club didn’t find out until they organised a fight for Caroline, against a boy. This forced the youngster to leave the club and although she still hasn’t come clean to the club, her success in major competitions has meant she thinks they will have cottoned on by now.

Caroline has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, becoming the national, European, World and Olympic champion at youth level. Put simply, she is right at the very top of her game, with boxing commentator Mike Costello claiming: "I am having to slam on the brakes because I am tempted to call Caroline Dubois the best female boxer I have seen."

Her run of 40 consecutive wins have propelled her into contention for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and she will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of several of the past winners of this award. 

Wayne Rooney, Ellie Simmonds and Tom Daley are all previous recipients who have gone on to achieve massive things in the world of sport.

In front of a live audience, she was presented with the award at the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards by presenters Greg James, Maya Jama and Mollie King. 

She beat 11-year-old skateboarder Sky Brown and 17-year-old para-swimmer Maisie Summers-Newton, two youngsters who have also had brilliant years, to the prestigious prize.

Caroline Dubois is the latest young star to get involved in the exciting world of British boxing and let’s hope her 2020 can be as successful as this year was.