Charlie Ayre has won the British Elite Athletes Association’s (BEAA) Athletes’ Athlete of the Month award for June.

The judoka topped a vote among BEAA members after winning the first IJF World Tour medal of his career at the Qingdao Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old produced a series of excellent performances to reach his maiden World Tour final in China, where he eventually lost out to reigning champion, Hayato Kondo of Japan, despite another strong display.

A milestone moment in his fledgling career, Charlie’s silver medal was a timely boost as he prepares to compete at the Commonwealth Games this month.

“It's a big thing for me,” he said.

“It allows me to push on a bit for Olympic qualification. It gives me confidence going into the rest of the cycle.

“It’s helped my seeding for the Commonwealth Games, and my world ranking in general.

“I'm quite excited [for Glasgow 2026]. It's the first multi-sport event that I've competed at, and the whole buildup's been great, so I'm really looking forward to it.”

The Athletes' Athlete of the Month award is presented by the BEAA on behalf of its members - athletes funded by UK Sport's World Class Programme - and celebrates both sporting and non-sporting achievements, such as charitable efforts and awareness raising.

Charlie was up against Amelia Cass (para-cycling), Oliver Conway (triathlon) and Hope Gordon (para-canoeing) for June’s award.

“It's great to be recognised by other athletes and especially the people that I'm training day in, day out with,” he added.

“I think there's a really good feeling around the place at the minute, so it's nice to be recognised by everyone else and hopefully we all keep pushing on and doing what we do best.”

Athletes can get involved in choosing the winner of future awards via the BEAA’s monthly member emails.