Matt Richardson crowned 2022 WAIS Athlete of the Year
Track cyclist Matt Richardson has been crowned 2022 WAIS Athlete of the Year, following an outstanding year where he made his mark at the top of track sprinting. He claimed his first individual World Championship medal with an outstanding silver in the sprint, nearly dethroning the three-time defending world champion in the gold medal ride.
Matt was also a key rider in the team sprint, where he helped Australia break a decade long drought to claim the rainbow jersey as world champions.
Earlier in 2022 he showed the world a glimpse of what was to come winning gold medals in the sprint and team sprint at the Commonwealth Games, repeating the exploits of fellow WA cyclist Ryan Bayley from the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Matt also impressed winning five medals across five events at the UCI Track Nations Cup.
In winning the WAIS Athlete of the Year award, Matt becomes the seventh cyclist to receive the honour.
He beat out a strong field of finalists that included Nina Kennedy, Courtney Bruce, Jake Howe and Ben Sainsbury.
Jacqui Swick and Alex Saffy were named join Young Athletes of the Year after outstanding years. Jacqui made her international debut in 2022, competing at both senior and under 23 level. In a highly competitive field at the U23 World Rowing Championships in Varese, she led Australia to bronze in the women’s four.
At a senior level she was part of the Australian Rowing Team in the women’s eight that made the final at the World Championships and claimed gold at World Cup III.
Alex Saffy’s rise in Para Swimming continued at a rapid rate in 2022, as he made his first World Championship team, where he claimed bronze in the 100 metre butterfly S10 at the World Para Swimming Championships in Portugal.
A month later he added another medal to his name with silver in the same event at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The Coach of the Year Award was presented to Wheelchair Basketball Head Coach Brad Ness.
Brad leads a highly cohesive multidisciplinary team with distributed leadership, consistently producing talent that is successful on the world stage. In 2022 there were a record number of WAIS Wheelchair Basketball athletes selected to National Teams, including 3 Commonwealth Games athletes, 8 to the Asia and Oceania Zone Championship.
Beyond performances, Brad is an unrelenting advocate for the value of WAIS and Paralympic sport. In 2022, Brad supported the development of a WA wheelchair basketball pathways program, Wheelchair AFL community sport program, and two new National Institute wheelchair basketball programs.
Athletics took out Program of the Year. Athletics shone on the world stage in 2022, spearheaded by Nina Kennedy’s bronze in pole vault at the World Championships in Oregon as well as the Diamond League final. Athletes in athletics won eight medals at the Commonwealth Games, including four gold.
Program staff, coaches, physiotherapist, biomechanist featured on World Championships and Commonwealth Games teams. While athletes and staff have been involved in many community engagement activities they have also been at the forefront of innovation. The team, have pioneered and implemented an innovative app called ‘The Vault’.
2022 WAIS Annual Awards of Excellence Winners
Athlete of the Year: Matt Richardson
Young Athlete of the Year: Jacqui Swick and Alex Saffy
Coach of the Year: Brad Ness
Program of the Year: Athletics