Olympian Denise Lewis OBE and Haven open search to reward the UK's Lockdown Champions

Video calls, online quizzes, baking and lots of exercise were a theme of 2020s lockdowns but how much of this was down to boredom or was it a necessary survival strategy?

According to new research from leading holiday company Haven, over half of UK adults (51%) walked or ran their way through lockdown to improve their mental health, while nearly a third (31%) took to cooking or baking to help them rebalance.

Throughout the pandemic people in the UK have demonstrated incredible mental strength or helped others improve theirs, and gold medal winning Heptathlete and Broadcaster, Denise Lewis is launching Haven’s Lockdown Champions to give a big thanks to those who’ve helped us all get through the trials of last year.

“We’ve all had to face a huge amount of challenges over the last year,” said Denise. “We know those on the frontline have had to manage a huge rollercoaster of emotions but also there are people who’ve also done small things, but has meant a huge amount to someone else, and we want to say a huge thank you to the champions of lockdown.”

Denise Lewis has teamed up with other Team GB athletes to launch Haven’s Lockdown Champions and offer them some unique and exciting experiences.

The prizes are based on the research showing what things they did during lockdown to improve their mental health, or how they were inspired by professional athletes to improve their health and fitness.

A huge 87% of those polled said that they wanted to take forward the good exercise habits of 2020 into 2021 with 27.1% of people said they wanted to learn from experts or get professional help to be able to take their exercise to the next level post 2020.

Winning Lockdown Champions will have the chance to experience prizes such as a watching a private diving session with Tom Daley, a bike ride with triathlete Vicky Holland or a brunch meeting with trampolinist Bryony Page.

“We wanted to bring our champions together with Haven’s Lockdown Champions and provide a really unique experience,” said Denise. “We’ve been through one of the most challenging and unique times in our lives but have seen how taking the time out to exercise and engage with other people really helps our mental health, and we need to keep talking about this and continue to take action.”

To take part in Haven’s Lockdown Champions and nominate yourself or someone else, you can fill out a nomination form at www.haven.com/teamgb. Applications are open from 14 April with winners announced during Mental Health Awareness Week (10-16 May 2021).