(by Steve Hopkins, photo from prideofsportawards)

At age 14, Welsh junior table tennis champion, Anna Hursey, is already making international waves.  She was recognized last year by the UN last year as a Young Champion and included in the UN Climate Change initiative that uses sport to help get the message out.  Hursey speaks English and Mandarin and she represented Wales in the Commonwealth Games at the young age of 11.  Her combination of language skills and sporting excellence makes her a great spokesperson.

A CNN article today noted that a meeting has been set for Hursey to meet with US Embassy Personnel.  President Biden emailed her last week to talk about potential roles for her in the April Earth Day Summit that he will be hosting.  Perhaps Hursey will be this year’s Greta Thunberg – an outspoken, young leader bringing attention to an important international issue.  In this case, the Butterfly player will also be using our sport to help with the message.