A stellar shortlist of top quality performers have been announced as candidates for the 2016 WAIS Athlete of the Year Award which will be presented at this weekend’s WAIS Annual Dinner at HBF Stadium.
The voting period from 1 Oct 2015 – 30 Sep 2016 has seen numerous excellent performances from WAIS scholarship holders, both domestically and on the world stage.
It comes as little surprise that the six-strong shortlist is reflected by performances fresh in the memory from the first Olympics and Paralympics to ever be hosted in South America.
Swimmer, Tamsin Cook, earns her position on the list following her breakout 2015 campaign which saw her crowned WAIS Junior Athlete of the Year. Cook debuted on the senior Australian Swim Team at the Rio Olympic Games, where she came away with a silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay. At 17 years of age, Cook also finished sixth in the final of the women’s 400m freestyle event, in which she broke a personal best in the heats, to qualify for.
Paralympic debutant, Ella Pardy makes the award shortlist, after the 25 year-old won bronze in Rio, as a member of the Australian women’s T35-38 4x100m relay team. Pardy also contested the T38 100m sprint where she finished in sixth position.
With Paralympic sailing marking its exit from the competition schedule in Rio, WAIS sailors Colin Harrison and Russell Boaden ensured they made their mark on the event and its legacy. The pair, along with the New South Welshman Jonathon Harris, established a lead in the three-person sonar competition on day one that they wouldn’t relinquish, claiming the gold medal with a comfortable 18-point lead on the waters of Marina da Gloria.
20-year-old cyclist, Sam Welsford burst onto the scene in 2016 winning his first senior track title in Adelaide, in the men’s individual pursuit. His performances led to selection on the national team at the 2016 Track World Championships in London, where he and the Australian team pursuit squad, stormed home to win gold over hosts Great Britain. GB would reverse the result in Rio, with Welsford and the Australians taking silver, with the second fastest time in history, behind the world-record breaking Brits.
Madison de Rozario had a strong finish to 2015 winning her first IPC Athletics World title in the women’s T53 800m wheelchair track race. At just 22 years of age, de Rozario represented Australia at her third Paralympic Games, where she went on to win silver in both the 800m and 4x400m wheelchair track racing events. Now based in Sydney, de Rozario also holds an NSWIS scholarship.
Butterfly swimmer, Brianna Throssell qualified for her first Olympic Games in 2016 following an excellent performance at the selection trials in Adelaide where she finished second in her pet event, crucially in a time below the all-important A-Qualification time. In Rio, Throssell impressed on debut, earning a spot in the 200m butterfly final, where she finished in eighth place against the best in the world.
WAIS Athlete of the Year Shortlist (from top left):
- Colin Harrison and Russell Boaden (SAILING)
- Brianna Throssell (SWIMMING)
- Madison de Rozario (ATHLETICS)
- Sam Welsford (CYCLING)
- Ella Pardy (ATHLETICS)
- Tamsin Cook (SWIMMING)
The highly anticipated WAIS Athlete of the Year award will be announced on Saturday, with the shortlist to be narrowed to four finalists on the night.
Along with the Athlete of the Year, the WAIS Annual Dinner will also see winners crowned in the; Junior Athlete of the Year, Personal Excellence Award, Coach of the Year and Program of the Year.
– Annika Lee-Jones
