By Alesha Capone
Teenage boxing champion Marissa Williamson has been awarded a scholarship by the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame.
Ms Williamson, 18, said the scholarship has provided her with $10,000 to put towards boxing costs, such as travelling to competitions.
The scholarship has also given her access to wellbeing programs and staff, such as nutrition specialists, at the Australian Institute of Sport.
She has also been assigned a mentor, Olympic gold medalist and professional volleyball player Kerri Pottharst.
Ms Williamson took up boxing when she was 16.
“What I have enjoyed is just the opportunity to travel and learn life skills, which I didn’t the chance to do when I was younger,” she said.
Ms Williams said the scholarship has been the highlight of a “tough year” during which she left foster care and temporarily became homeless, before finding her own apartment.
Ms Williamson, who grew up in Wyndham but moved to Ascot Vale this year, is the 64kg Victorian Boxing Champion and 64kg Australian Boxing Champion.
She is also on the National Futures Team, which aims to train athletes for the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2024 Olympics.
Ms Williamson said she was all set to represent Australia at the World Youth Games in Poland last month, but that the event has been postponed until next year due to COVID-19.
Ms Williamson said she usually trains six days a week. For the past two to three months, she has been training at Crew Fitness and Performance in Braybrook, which was co-founded by five-time Australian boxing champion Jason Mallia.
