Swimmer Holly Hibbott from Southport receives £2,000 SportsAid Award from Elton John

Fourteen-year-old swimmer Holly Hibbott from Southport received a £2,000 boost to her sporting career on Saturday when Sir Elton John CBE handed her a cheque from SportsAid to help her achieve her Olympic ambitions.

The donation is one of the first to come from SportsAid's new Elton John Sports Fund after the charity raised more than £300,000 at an acclaimed concert by the artist at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire on Saturday June 28.

The fund will support some of Britain's brightest prospects from more than 50 different sports by providing annual awards of £2,000 to help with essential training and competition costs.

Holly said, "It was a really good experience meeting Sir Elton John. He was really nice to us all and gave us a few words of encouragement for the future. It feels great to be one of the first athletes to benefit from his support and to have someone who believes in my ability gives me a lot of confidence."

She added, "The support will help me in lots of ways like travel costs, training equipment expenses and accommodation for when I am racing away from home."

Next weekend Holly will be representing Great Britain at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Dordrecht in the Netherlands.

Elton John said, "It was a special moment to meet Holly and the other athletes. Their successes are already very impressive, and with a little extra help and recognition who knows what they could go on to achieve. They are the reason we were all at Stoke Park for the concert. Working with SportsAid, we know we are helping the right athletes at the right time."

Holly was also inspired to meet Mark Foster, Karen Pickering, Duncan Goodhew – who have all benefited from SportsAid’s support – and Keri-Anne Payne at the event.

Before the concert began Keri-Anne Payne said, "I've spoken to quite a few of the young athletes who are here tonight and it’s amazing to see what they feel when they are given SportsAid's support because of the confidence it gives them that someone believes in them and that they are on the right track."

Other SportsAid alumni who were there to show their support were Steve Redgrave, Katherine Grainger, Ade Adepitan, Derek Redmond, Gail Emms, Danny Crates, Anna Watkins, Mark Hunter, Zac Purchase, Richard Hounslow, Sarah Winckless, Shelley Rudman, Heather Stanning, Beth Rodford and Steve Williams.

Towards the end of a superb performance that included the classics Your Song, Rocket Man and Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Elton John said to the crowd of 5,000 fans, "Thanks to your support we will be able to fund young athletes for the next eight years to help make their dreams come true. Thank you!"