Dunn, Matthews and Warner named in New Year's Honours list

Paula Dunn has been awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list for her services to athletics – with Caroline Matthews and Sophia Warner also being honoured.

Dunn has been Paralympic head coach at British Athletics since 2013 and before that was Paralympic performance manager.

Under her stewardship the GB Paralympic Track & Field team returned from the Rio Games in 2016 with their biggest-ever medal haul of 33 medals (15 gold, 7 silver, 11 bronze).

She has also overseen some of the most successful World and European Championships during her spell in charge.

Before coaching, Dunn enjoyed a successful career as a sprinter and represented Great Britain at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul as well as having both Commonwealth and European medals to her name.

Another honouree is Matthews – who also receives an MBE for her services to wheelchair basketball in the UK.

Matthews represented Great Britain 125 times over a 15-year playing career and was part of the squads that went to Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.

Since retiring from playing, Matthews has turned her attention to bringing on the next generation of wheelchair basketball stars and is actively involved with the elite performance programme as Welsh U19 coach.

She was also one of nine athletes to be named on the British Paralympic Association’s first ever Athletes’ Commission back in 2013.

The Commission acts as an advisory group to the BPA, and represents the views of athletes to the BPA board.

Elsewhere, Warner has been named as a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) for voluntary service to disability sports.

Warner won medals in the T35 100m and 200m at the 2011 World Championship and 2012 European Championship as well as representing Great Britain at the 2012 Paralympic Games, finishing fourth in the T35 200m final

Since retiring she has launched the Para Triathlon Superhero Series – which allows disabled and non-disabled people to take part in triathlons together.

She is also a vice-president of The Children’s Trust, a UK charity for children with brain injury.