TICKETS are still available for the inaugural South Wales Argus Sports Awards, which take place at Celtic Manor on Wednesday night.

Olympic champion Linford Christie will be the guest speaker at the star-studded event at The Augusta Suite at Celtic Manor Golf Club.

And you can rub shoulders with the great and good of Gwent sport, including Newport County AFC manager Michael Flynn and Winter Olympian Mica Moore on the night.

The awards have been established to celebrate Gwent sport with members of the public nominating those who they feel should be recognised.

The evening will get under way at 7pm with a drinks reception, followed by dinner and the awards, with carriages at midnight. The dress code is black tie.

A limited number of tickets are still available at a cost of £36, which includes a three-course meal. To book your seat call 01633 777046 by 2pm on Tuesday.

Guest speaker Christie is undoubtedly Europe’s greatest ever 100m sprinter.

He became the Olympic 100m champion after winning the gold medal at the 1992 Games in Barcelona.

In an international career spanning 17 years, Christie competed more than 60 times for his country and won more major championship medals, 23, than any other British sprinter.

He is the only British athlete to have won gold medals in the 100m at all four major competitions and was the first European to run sub-10 seconds.

His fastest time of 9.87 seconds was recorded when he won the 1993 World Championship in Stuttgart.

Christie’s success in athletics has continued since his retirement in a coaching role, having guided a number of top athletes to success including Olympic medallists Darren Campbell, Katharine Merry, Mark Lewis Francis and Commonwealth gold medallist Laura Turner.

He is currently coaching some of Britain’s leading international athletes – European indoor silver medallist and European under-23 400m champion Nigel Levine and Olympians James Ellington and Margaret Adeoye.

The host for the evening is Rob Stokes, who has been a journalist for more than 35 years and is a former regional daily newspaper editor.

He has been compering awards' events since the early 1990s. He also works as a freelance writer and runs his own voice-over business.

Newport Live chief executive Steve Ward and commercial director Andrea Hall will also be attending.

Speaking about the awards, South Wales Argus managing director Hussain Bayoomi said: “We are setting out to recognise the true heroes of local sport and to create an event which will be one of the highlights of the sporting calendar locally.

“Local sport can be the glue which holds our communities together, providing a foundation for health, fitness and teamwork.

“It can also be where we find sporting stars of the future.”

He added: “Recognising and honouring the achievements of the countless outstanding contributions to sport is an honour for the South Wales Argus.

“From the sportsperson who has excelled in whatever sport, to the hundreds of coaches who put in hour after hour, week after week to support them, and to the countless volunteers behind the scenes who make it all happen, we want to highlight them all.”