Golden duo to be given freedom of district honours
MEDAL-WINNING ACHIEVEMENTS
GOLD medallists Dylan Fletcher and Laura Sugar are to be granted the Freedom of Harborough District.
Olympian sailor Dylan Fletcher, a former Robert Smyth student from Market Harborough, who won a gold medal for Team GB in the Men’s 49er at Tokyo in 2020, and Paralympian canoeist Laura Sugar, from Billesdon, who also won gold for Team GB in the women’s KL3 Paracanoe at Tokyo, will each receive the honour.
At an extraordinary meeting of Harborough District Council last week, councillors unanimously agreed the authority would confer the titles of honorary freeman and honorary freewoman respectively to the successful pair.
The Freedom of the District is granted to “persons of distinction” who have “rendered eminent services” and have a strong association with the district.
Dylan, 33, and Laura, 30, will be invited to a special presentation at the council in May.
Dylan, who went to Market Harborough C of E School and later Kibworth High and Robert Smyth School, said: “This is a great honour and I didn’t expect it.
“I grew up learning to sail around
Market Harborough, and winning gold felt like giving something back to the people who had supported me there over the years.”
Council leader Phil King had previously put forward a motion to council to grant the successful athletes Freedom of the District to recognise their achievements.
Coun King said: “It’s the least we can do, to show our support to Dylan and Laura after their outstanding achievements. The sheer dedication to get to a gold medal-winning performance takes a huge amount of commitment and sacrifice and we wanted to recognise that.”
These are the first honours of their kind in the district since 2011, when the Royal Anglian Regiment were awarded Freedom of the district.