World Record holders Conor Leahy & Sam Welsford crowned joint 2024 WAIS Athletes of the Year

Cycling and swimming stole the spotlight at the 2024 WAIS Awards of Excellence, with athletes and coaches from these programs taking top honors across the four prestigious award categories. The event celebrated a groundbreaking year for Western Australian sport, showcasing finalists who included world champions, world record holders, and Olympic gold medallists-the pinnacle of high-performance achievement.

Olympic gold medalists Conor Leahy and Sam Welsford were jointly named WAIS Athletes of the Year. The duo, key members of Australia’s gold medal-winning pursuit team at the Paris Olympic Games, shattered the world record in the team pursuit with an extraordinary time of 3 minutes and 40.730 seconds in their heat.

Leahy and Welsford also earned silver at the UCI Track Nations Cup in Adelaide earlier this year. Conor celebrated a stellar season, becoming a three-time national champion and securing his fifth Australian title in the individual pursuit while proudly representing WA. For Welsford, this marks his second WAIS Athlete of the Year title, having previously won in 2016. His perseverance across three Olympic cycles—winning silver, bronze, and now gold—exemplifies his dedication to the sport. Balancing his track commitments with a professional road cycling career, Welsford claimed stage victories this year at the Santos Tour Down Under and the Tour of Hungary with the Bora-Hansgrohe team.

Joining Leahy and Welsford as finalists were other Olympic gold medallists, including Nina Kennedy, who made history by winning gold in the pole vault with a jump of 4.90m, becoming the first Australian woman to claim Olympic gold in a field event. Also nominated was sailor Matt Wearn, who successfully defended his Tokyo 2020 gold medal with another victory in Paris, reaffirming his reputation as a leader within WAIS and the Australian Sailing Team.

Young Athlete of the Year was awarded to Iona Anderson for her remarkable year in swimming. Anderson’s 2024 journey included making the Australian Olympic Team, where she placed 5th in the 100m backstroke final, won silver in the 4x100m medley relay, and bronze in the mixed medley relay. Her achievements at the World Championships included gold in the 4x100m medley relay and silver in both the 100m and 50m backstroke events. Anderson also broke a National Age Record previously held by Kaylee McKeown, becoming the fourth-fastest Australian in the 100m backstroke of all time. Other finalists in this category included stars from rowing: Jacqui Swick, Gen Hart and Rebecca Pretorius, Ben Scott and Alex Baroni.

In the Coach of the Year category, nominees Shane McDonald (Women’s Basketball), Shane Perkins (Cycling), Ben Higson (Swimming), and James Fitzpatrick (Athletics) were recognised for their invaluable contributions. Ben Higson ultimately claimed the award for his outstanding work with WAIS swimmers and exemplary leadership.

Cycling was named Program of the Year, edging out Swimming and Women’s Basketball. The program exceeded performance targets, with athletes Kane Perris and Luke Zaccaria earning selection to the 2024 Para Cycling World Championships and setting new national records. Their success continued at the Paris Paralympic Games, where they placed 4th and again lowered the national record.

Para-canoe athlete Mark Daniels was awarded the Wally Foreman Scholarship, which will provide vital financial support to help him continue his inspiring journey in high-performance sport.

Congratulations to all finalists and winners! WAIS is proud to be part of your extraordinary achievements in 2024 and looks forward to supporting your ongoing success.