Rob Sparkes wins award at annual Police Sports awards

Wednesday 18 March 2026 saw the annual Police Sport UK Awards take place at the Milner Hotel in York, which was held in conjunction with the National Police Chiefs Council and Team Police. This annual event celebrates those who have represented their Police force at a sporting level, and in the process made a lasting impression which deserves recognition.

Humberside’s Athletics Section nominated Rob Sparkes who was awarded the prestigious Sports Person of the Year award! Rob is pictured below with his award, from L-R: Humberside Chief Constable Chris Todd, Andy Doran (Salesforce), Rob Sparkes with Carl Horth, Rachel Darling-Love and Andy Guest from Humberside’s Athletics Section.

Rob started running for Humberside in 2023 and has been a revelation. He has won every Northern Police Cross Country fixture he has attended, further he has also won the PSUK National Cross Country Championships in 2024.

In addition he has also played a key role in Humberside being Team winners in the Northern Police Cross Country League for the last two seasons and is a credit to the athletics section.

In March 2025 Rob placed third in the PSUK National Cross Country Championships which earned him a spot on the PSUK Team for the European Cross Country Champs in the Netherlands. This is the first time Humberside has had a runner compete at an international level which is absolutely superb. Rob helped the national team place third overall and put in a superb individual performance on the day.

Rob also successfully defended his British Police Fell Race title in May 2025, winning in Helvellyn by a significant distance which was a superb achievement on a very challenging course.

In addition, to his outstanding personal and team performance over the last year, he has proved to be a catalyst for further participation at local force level, regional level and national events. Rob really has been the spearhead for grass roots participation, and everything good about the Athletics section.

He is humble, a team player and has placed Humberside on the international stage which was unthinkable a few years ago.

The PSUK Committee agreed with this and Rob was presented with his award on Wednesday evening in the presence of our Chief Constable Chris Todd who was delighted to see Rob winning.

Congratulations Rob, and here’s to many more years representing Humberside in the green vest!