Commonwealth Games 2022 members' recognized in the 2023 New Year Honors list

In the 2023 New Year Honors list, the members of the team responsible for staging the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 have received awards. Denise Lewis, the president of the Commonwealth Games England, has been made a dame, and John Crabtree, the chairman of the Birmingham 2022 organizing committee, has been knighted. Ian Metcalfe, the head of Commonwealth Games England, was given the title of Order of the British Empire.Chris Jones, the project director of the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, the only newly constructed venue for the multi-sport competition that featured diving and swimming, was given the title of a Member of the British Empire.

Shah Skeikh Shepali Begum, the Commonwealth Games Legacy Team’s outreach and effects manager, Sarah Coffey, the executive assistant to the chief executive and head of legacy, and Bethan Stimpson, who brought together Gen22, which allowed 16 to 24-year-olds from the region get work experience at the Games, have all earned British Empire Medals.

Read more: Femina ‘Fabulous 40’ 2022: Women Sportspersons who made it to the list

What Dame Denise, a double Olympic heptathlon medalist, said after receiving the honor

“I’m delighted and immensely proud – this doesn’t normally happen to people like me and I just think I am extremely honored, extremely proud and it’s right up there, I just can’t wait,” Dame Denise said according to BBC News.

What John Crabtree, the chairman of the organizing committee said

“For my part, I am both honored and humbled to be awarded a knighthood and to be in the company of wonderful people from across the West Midlands that make a real difference,” Crabtree, the chairman of the Organizing Committee and the current Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands region, stated at his honor.

What the chief executive of the Organizing Committee, Ian Reid, Had to Say

“I am immensely proud to have been awarded a Commander of the British Empire in the New Year Honors list. It was unexpected but it’s a lovely surprise at the end of a very special year. It is also pleasing to see colleagues and representatives from some of our key partners who helped deliver the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games be recognized with honors too. An event on this scale can only be successfully delivered by a huge team of people and although the work of some individuals has been highlighted through these honors, I would like to once again thank everyone involved in helping to stage Birmingham 2022,” said Ian Reid.

Read more: Commonwealth Games Federation President Louise Martin’s message regarding the ‘New Year’ and the ‘Year 2022’