Kukla and Downie Receive OAM Honours

Western Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holders Yolane Kukla and Kat Downie both received Medals of the Order of Australia (OAM) on Australia Day for their services to the sport of swimming.

Kukla and Downie, who both returned home from London (Olympics and Paralympics respectively) with relay gold, were honoured for their achievements in the sport, along with several other members of the Australian swimming team.

Kukla, who trains under the guidance of WAIS high performance coach Michael Palfrey, received her honour alongside her fellow 4x100m freestyle relay gold medal-winning teammates Alicia Coutts, Cate Campbell and Brittany Elmslie.

Swimming WA’s Multi Class Swimmer of the Year in 2013 Downie was recognised after winning gold in the 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays in London.

Downie’s Paralympic teammates Ellie Cole, Brenden Hall, Blake Cochrane, Michael Anderson, Prue Watt, Annabelle Williams, Matthew Levy and Andrew Pasterfield were also awarded an Order of Australia Medal while Jacqueline Freney was named young Australian of the Year for 2014.

-SwimmingWA