The Sir Chris Hoy Sports Scholarship Fund has been launched with the University of Edinburgh to support student-athletes who train and study at the same time. Twenty scholars will receive funding this year to help cover the costs of intensive training and competing while pursuing their degrees.

The first cohort includes Alyson Bell and Phoebe Gill (athletics), Amelia Tyler (cycling), Noah Penman (diving), Ciara Schlosshan (swimming) and Emily Carrick-Anderson (mountain biking). Recipients will receive a bursary-style grant alongside access to university sports facilities, coaching, nutrition guidance and physiotherapy.

Sir Chris Hoy, who studied applied sports sciences at Edinburgh in 1999, has won 11 world titles and seven Olympic medals, including six golds. Penman, one of the scholars, said the support would give him more time to train, fund new equipment and compete internationally. Hoy said the scholarship gives young athletes the opportunity to pursue sport and education, and university principal Professor Sir Peter Mathieson said the investment would nurture exceptional talent.