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Sports Stars of the Year from 1956
Morna Pearce was the winner of the inaugural
Sportsman of the Year. Morna represented WA from 1951-56 and was
selected as a member of the Australian team for the same period.
Morna was the Australian Team Captain in 1956 in
Sydney for an IFWHA International Tournament against 30 nations
achieving 1-3 vs England ; 1-0 vs Holland , 2-0 vs Canada ; 8-0 vs
Ireland ; 0-0 vs Scotland ; 0-1 vs South Africa.
First Australian women to win a track and field
medal at the Olympics. Shirley de la Hunty's Olympic tally of seven
medals for athletics remains unequalled. She also won the Helms Award
as the outstanding Australasian athlete of 1956 and the following year
was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Honours List.
Herb Elliott's first sub-four-minute mile was
recorded on 28 January 1958 at 3min 59.9sec. The fastest mile of
Elliott's career was set in Dublin in 1958 when he was timed at 3min
54.5sec. Herb won the Helms Award as the outstanding Australasion
athlete for 1958.
In 1959 playing for West Perth Brian Foley won the
Sandover medal by 10 votes, club fairest and best, sportsman of the
year, the Daily News and West Australian footballer-of-the-year awards,
the Ampol and Valencia awards. He also won the Pelaco Oscar that is
decided by the votes of opposing players.
Bob Simpson came to WA from NSW in 1956, a move that
sent him on his way to an illustrious four years playing 1 st class
cricket for WA. Twenty-four matches played at this level saw him with
an average of 79.67 runs and his highest score was 236 runs. His
average run score as a Sheffield Shield player during 1959-60 was a
remarkable 300.66 runs.
David Dickson was a champion sprint swimmer and
topped the poll for some outstanding performances in Australia and
overseas. He was part of the 4 x 200 freestyle relay team who finished
with a bronze medal – behind the US and Japan - at the Rome
Olympic Games.
In 1961 David led a 15-man Australian team on a tour
of Asia and Europe , during which time he contested 23 races and won
them all.
Bob Marshall carved a reputation of being a wizard
with the cue dominating amateur billiards before and after World War
11, winning the world championship four times (1936, 38, 51 & 62)
and runner up in 1952 and 1954.
Bob was recognised as one of the most prolific and
consistent high scorers in the game. His many world records included a
break of 702 in 37 minutes in the final of the 1953 Australian
championship.
Dixie Willis achieved two world records in 1962 in
the 880 yards and 800m events at the women's track and field
championships. Dixie won gold for the 880 yards at the Perth
Commonwealth Games.
Appointed senior coach of Swan Districts Football
club in 1961, Haydn Bunton took the team from its bottom dwelling
position of the previous fifteen years to its first Premiership in 1961
and once again in 1962, winning the Sandover medal in the same year.
At the 1962 Commonwealth Games David Dickson won
gold medals in the Men's 440 yards Freestyle Relay and the 440 yards
Medley Relay Races. He won a bronze medal in the Men's 110 yards
Freestyle.
Bob Marshall was invited to India in 1962 and won
both national titles for billiards and snooker. His highest break was
1056 made in 49 minutes and he averaged 100 or more in a two-hour
session on 34 occasions.
Joyce Bennett competed in the Commonwealth Games
in Perth in 1962 winning a silver medal in the 220y final and gold in
the 110y sprint relay. Early in 1963 Joyce won the 220y sprint held at
the WA State titles and the National titles and a bronze in the 110y
sprint.
Graham McKenzie, aged 23, was Australia 's leading
wicket-taker in tests against England , Pakistan and India . The
friendly and modest young man also became the quickest Australian to
100 Test wickets, reaching that goal in December, three years and 165
days after his debut for Australia .
John Ryan was a champion surf and pool swimmer who
competed at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics where he won a bronze medal in the
4 x 100m freestyle and was a semi-finalist in the 100m freestyle
events. John also won gold in surf belt races and was a member of the
Australian Surf Life Saving Team.
Peter Kelly was an outstanding opening batsman,
who in November became the first Australian to score a century in each
innings of a match against the MCC ( England ) in Australia . The
24-year-old Sydney-born right-hander made 119 and 108 against the MCC,
132 and 103 against NSW, 85 against South Australia and 80 against
Victoria .
That summer he harvested 904 first-class runs at
an average of 56.5 and shared in a record WA stand of 203 for the
second wicket against NSW. He also made 99 in a two-day match against
Tasmania in Hobart .
Bill Walker played an important support role to
captain/coach Haydn Bunton in the Swans hat trick of premierships
(1961, 1962, 1963 and blossomed as a rover in his own right to win the
Sandover Medal as WA's fairest and best player in 1965.
At the Commonwealth Games in 1966 David Dickson
won gold medals in the Men's 440 Yards and 880 Yards Freestyle Relays
and a bronze medal in the Men's 110 yards Freestyle.
During the 1966/67 season Phil Coulson was the
leading driver in Perth with 47 winners and he also won the Perth
Trainers Premiership that season with 41 winners. His third successive
win in each of those awards.
Phil drove Binshaw, the first WA bred horse to win
the Inter Dominion in the1967 Inter Dominion held at Gloucester Park
Binshaw also won the 1966 Christmas Gift that season. Phil also trained
Hy Craft, Lord Mina and Color Glo to win the WA Pacing Cup in 1964,
1965 and 1966 and he drove Lord Mina and Color Glo in their WA Cup
wins.
Barry Cable, a roving maestro, was always
determined to be the best at his art; a dedicated footballer whose
total devotion to perfection was never questioned. His individual feats
were magnificent, winning the Sandover Medal for the fairest and best
player in WA in 1964, a Tassie Medal for the best player in an
Australian carnival and a Simpson Medal, both in 1966.
As a player Cable worked relentlessly at his
football skills, developing the art of short-passing with a deadly stab
kick and immaculate handball with both hands.
Brian Griffin was only 16 years of age when he
made his A-grade debut for Nedlands Subiaco in 1957, the youngest
player to compete in a senior club team. In 1958, aged 17, he played
for the WA U/21 side and was the leading goal scorer.
Brian was an attacker of the highest quality,
first representing Australia in 1962 and was captain for the inaugural
World Series in Toronto in 1967 when he was voted most valuable player.
American experts described Brian as the world's best player in 1967.
Bill Walker won the Sandover Medal as WA's fairest
and best player in 1966 and again in 1967, tying that time with John
Parkinson to share the award.
One of the worlds fastest backstroke swimmers,
Lynne Watson won three Australian junior titles and followed with four
gold medals and seven national records at the national senior
championships in 1967/68.
Earlier she captured no fewer than 17 titles at
the WA championships and moved into third place on the Australian
all-time list for 100m freestyle with her time of 61.9sec.
Brian Glencross earned a world-wide reputation as
an outstanding hockey player and representing Australia won a bronze
medal at his first Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964, followed by a silver
medal in Mexico City four years later. He was the leading goalscorer in
the tournament with seven goals and scored Australia 's only goal in
their 2-1 defeat by Pakistan in the final.
A powerful and accurate corner-hitter, Glencross
captained Australia for the first time in 1968, the year he had the
distinction of becoming the first Australian to be selected in an
unofficial world team.
Aged 17, Lyn McClements won Australia's first
Olympic butterfly gold medal, setting an Olympic record of 65.6sec in
the 100m at the 1968 Mexico City Games, where she also won silver in
the medley relay.
Lyn won the 100m butterly in her first appearance
at a national championships in 1968, leading directly to her selection
for Mexico City . Four months after the Games, she won both the 100m
and 200m butterfly titles at the Australian championships in Perth .
Syd Lodge was a member of a 2-man 16 foot Hornet
Class racing yacht that won from a field of 48 yachts representing 7
countries at the Hayling Island , Portsmouth , UK World Champs. Syd
went with a team of three others from Australia .
Syd was the second West Australian to win a world
title in yachting – Rolly Tasker was the first. This win meant WA
earned the right to defend the title on their home ground.
Margaret Court was ranked number one in the world
seven times and was the winner of 62 Grand Slam events. In 1969
Margaret was the winner of the Australian, French and US singles titles
in 1969. She was almost unbeatable with her athleticism and powerful
strokes and became only the second woman to complete the Grand Slam.
Margaret won the singles Grand Slam in 1970,
becoming only the second woman to do so. She also won at Wimbledon in
the same year. Margaret has also won the mixed Grand Slam title. She
won 19 of her 24 tournament appearances.
Dennis Lillee first played for WA in 1969. He
began his illustrious Test career in 1970-71 against England in
Australia playing with Rod Marsh in all 70 Test matches, later becoming
one of cricket's best fast-bowling duos with Jeff Thomson.
Gaye Switch was captain when the triumphant
Australian team won the World Netball Championship in Jamaica in 1971
– the finest hour of Gaye's long and distinguished career. Gaye
played a dominant role in helping Australia to regain the world crown
from New Zealand.
Dennis Lillee humbled a star-studded World XI when
he took 8-29 runs for Australia at the WACA Ground, the first five
wickets for no runs.
In the 1972-73 history-making wicketkeeper-batsman
Rod Marsh set records with 23 Test dismissals in England and a
magnificent innings of 236 against Pakistan in Perth , the first Test
hundred by an Australian wicketkeeper.
Margaret Court won the Virginia Slims Tennis
Championship in 1973.
Roslyn Noel was a member of the WA team from 1960
to 1973 and toured Malaysia in 1962 and America in 1963. She was also
selected as a member of the Australian team touring in 1971 and 1973.
Roslyn was the Captain/Coach with the Australian Touring Team that
toured Holland in 1973 winning 5 of the 8 games against 8 countries.
In 1972-73 history-making wicket keeper/batsman
Rod Marsh set records with 23 Test dismissals in England and a
magnificent innings of 236 for WA against Pakistan in Perth . He then
scored 118 for Australia against Pakistan in Adelaide , the first Test
hundred by an Australian wicket keeper.
Trail-blazing golfer Graham Marsh's tournament
successes in Europe and Japan brought him his first sports star award
and acclaim as the best golfer outside the United States.
Rod Marsh's dazzling performances in 1974-75
included an Australian record of 64 dismissals, 865 runs in first-class
matches and a State record of nine dismissals that helped clinch the
Sheffield Shield for WA.
Current club and State titleholder Rob O'Sullivan
won the State selection series to represent WA in winning the 1973/74
Australian Moth Championship on Perth waters competing against 75
boats. 74 boats raced in the 1974 August World Championship series,
conducted at Taby Yacht Club in Sweden , from ten different countries
and Rob's three point lead in the last race was enough to win the
Championships as the sail off last race was abandoned because of
drifting conditions.
John Gilmour, at age 56 won the 3000m and 5000m in
the 55 years and over class at the World Veteran championships in
Canada in August 1975. He also won the 1500m, 5000m and 10000m in the
American Veteran championships the same month.
John holds nine world veteran records from 800m to
the half-marathon, and is Australian Veteran champion at 800, 1500 and
10000 metres.
Libby Felton proved that rifle shooting is by no
means a male stronghold any more by heading the field home to win the
open championship by three points with a score of 347.20 out of the
possible 355. In 1974 Libby was the first woman to win a Queen's Prize
in Australia and only second in the British Commonwealth with a top
score of 348.31 out of a possible 355.
Libby was the only lady shooter to have won two
Queens, having won the Queensland No 1 badge against the best shots in
Australia in less than one year. Now considered the best of all time by
not only winning two Queens in convincing fashion against Australia's
best but also she has won innumerable District Association
Championships and gained 2 well merited Australian pockets.
Missing the 1973-74 season because of a stress
fracture of the lower lumbar vertebrae, Dennis Lillee came back
stronger and better than ever, teaming with Jeff Thomson to form one of
modern cricket's most devastating fast bowling duos. When England
toured Australia in the 1974-75 season the duo captured 58 wickets
between them.
Ric Charlesworth won an Olympic silver medal in
the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.
Dennis Lillee achieved a stunning 11-wicket haul
in the Centenary Test against England and 36 wickets in five Tests
against Pakistan and New Zealand .
Graham Marsh captured the rich 1977 World
Matchplay Championship at Wentworth , England , to go with wins in two
lucrative Japanese events and the prestigious Lancome Trophy in France.
1977 was a big year for Dean Williams. He won the
Australian International Amateur title, 3 rd consecutive State title,
runner up South African Championships, won the Scottish Open, the
Danish Open, the Swiss Open, the Monte Carlo Open, the Spanish open and
was a semi finalist in the British Championships.
Dean was the first Western Australian to represent
Australia at the World Championships in Canada . Played as No 1 in team
and captain. Ranked No 3 World Amateur Champion.
Rob O'Sullivan convincingly won the Australian
Championships conducted at Waterloo Bay , hosted by the Manly Sailing
club. Series placings were 1,3,1,2,1 & 2 in a 67 boat fleet in
moderate wind conditions.
In the following World Championships Rob won by a
narrow margin of .3 of a point. A competitive 84 boats raced in the
series and his worst place being sixth place with boats from 5 other
countries and all States of Australia. In the same year Rob went onto
capture the State and club titles and Champion of Champions race.
Barbara Wall's tournament victories in the Danish,
Irish and Belgian Opens and the South African Champion of Champions
events spurred her onto greater heights when she returned to London for
the 1979 British Open as the No 8 seed, superbly fit and now dedicated
to winning.
Between 1972 and 1979 Ric Charlesworth played 1 st
Class cricket for Western Australia , Captaining the team in 1979. Ric
represented WA 47 times, scoring 2327 runs with a highest score of 101
not out. Ric captained WA four times.
Kim Hughes became the first Western Australian to
captain an Australian Test team. He was also only the fifth Australian
to compile 1000 Test runs in a calendar year. Enhancing his reputation
as one of Australia 's most exciting batsmen, he scored 1143 runs in 15
Tests at an average of 51.50, posting centuries against the West Indies
and India as well as a sparkling 99 in the first Test against England
in Perth .
Before leading Australia in the Prudential Cup
(now the World Cup) campaign in England he hit 154 in 160 balls to help
Fremantle win the first-grade premiership.
Globe-trotting Barbara Wall won the British
Women's Open Squash Championship at Wembley. In the year of WA's 150 th
Anniversary, Barbara's superior fitness told when she rallied from two
games down to beat Britain 's No 1 Sue Cogswell in the deciding fifth
game.
Kim Hughes played a number of wonderful innings
for Australia perhaps the most memorable being his swashbuckling 117
(14 fours and three sixes) in the 1980 Centenary Test at Lords's.
Reinsman Lou Austin captured the imagination of
the WA public when he drove wonder pacer San Simeon to an Australasian
record of 29 successive wins.
Austin, who taught San Simeon how to race and
nursed him back to health after he nearly died of a virus, was also in
the spider when the champion won the WA Pacing Derby, the Australasian
Pacing Derby, the WA Benson and Hedges Cup and the $140,000
Interdominion Grand Final in Hobart, where he toyed with the best
pacers from Australia and New Zealand.
Rodney Marsh became a history-making wicketkeeper
during a colourful Test career spanning 14 years from 1970-1984. In 96
Test matches he made a world record 355 dismissals, coincidentally the
same number as the Test bowling mark of his Western Australian
team-mate, Dennis Lillee.
In May 1981 at the World Championships in Hawaii ,
Sue Roberts attained World, National and State records in the Squat,
lifting 140kgs. Sue was the best lifter for the 44-60kg classes.
Sue was the best female lifter at the State titles
held in Perth during June 1981. Her 72.5kg Bench Press was a National
& State record. Her Deadlift of 165kg was a World, National and
State record. At the National Championships in Cairns , during 1981 Sue
was the best female lifter. World, National and State records were
attained in the Squat, lifting 147.5kgs. The Bench Press of 72.5kgs
achieved for a National & State record.
One of Terry Alderman's eye-catching debuts was
when he claimed 5-62 runs for Australia against England at Trent Bridge
in 1981. In that series Terry took an unprecedented 42 wickets in the
six Ashes Tests, combining brilliantly with fellow West Australian
speedster Dennis Lillee, who captured 39 wickets.
In 1981 Dennis Lillee combined brilliantly with
fellow West Australian Terry Alderman to capture 39 wickets in the six
Ashes Tests against England at Trent Bridge .
Neil Brooks excelled in freestyle sprints. He
teamed with Mark Kerry, Mark Tonelli and Peter Evans to win the gold
medal in the 4 x 100m medley relay at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Neil
swam the freestyle leg in a sizzling 49.86sec.
Powerfully built Neil Brooks also struck it rich
at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane . A member of Australia 's
celebrated “Mean Machine” he won gold medals in three
events – the 100m freestyle, and the 4 x 100m freestyle and
medley relays.
Western Australia's first world cycling champion,
fitness fanatic Steele Bishop rode the race of his life in the final of
the professional 5000m pursuit final in Zurich's Oerlikon Stadium. The
“Flying Fireman” caught his opponent, Switzerland 's 1980
Olympic gold medallist Robert Dill-Bundi, three laps from the finish, a
feat thought impossible at that level of competition.
Steele showed his versatility by winning the
five-day 1000m Griffin Tour on the road and two gold medals, a silver
and a bronze at the national track championships. After winning the
historic Westral Wheelrace for the sixth time, he retired – on
top of the world. In 1983 Steele was awarded the Oppy Oscar for the
best performance by an Australian cyclist, amateur or professional, in
Australia .
In 1984 Graham Lillingston capped an outstanding
yachting career by winning the world Flying Fifteen championship in
Ireland which was five years after a “near miss” in 1979
when runner-up for the title on the Swan River . Sailing in a borrowed
boat and with Mike McKenzie as forward hand, Graham outsailed 58
skippers from 7 countries.
Breaststroke specialist Peter Evans became the
fifth swimmer to be named Sports Star of the Year for his strong
performances at the Los Angeles Olympics. The University of Arizona
student clocked a record 1.02.87 in winning his heat of the 100m
breastroke, making him the first Australian since 1972 to break an
Olympic swimming mark.
One of Australia's most successful male swimmers
of the 1980's, he won a bronze medal in the final and added another
bronze medal to his collection as a member of Australia's third-placed
4 x 100m medley relay team.
23-year-old Claremont champion Steve Malaxos,
earned a place in Football's Hall of Fame with some outstanding
exhibitions for club, State and country. He was part of a first ever
three-way tie winner of the Sandover medal in 1984 tying with Peter
Spencer and Michael Mitchell.
Steve lead Western Australia to their second
Australian championship in successive years and also captained
Australia on a triumphant tour of Ireland , winning two of the three
Test.
Liz Smylie's performances in winning the Wimbledon
doubles title with Kathy Jordan, and being runner-up in the mixed
doubles at Wimbledon and the US Open (with John Fitzgerald) were
notable achievements. Her efforts in reaching her first Virginia Slims
final and her singles victory over Hana Mandlikova at Wimbledon were
also outstanding achievements.
In 1985-86 Graham Marsh won in England, Holland
and Japan and helped Australia to victory in the inaugural $1 million
Dunhill Cup at St Andrews.
Ric Charlesworth's career highlight came in 1986
when Australia won the World Cup in London. He was the leading
goalscorer of the tournament, voted best player and named in the World
XI for the fifth time.
Geoff Marsh had an inauspicious debut in the First
Test against India (1985-86); five and two not out. But in his sixth
Test (against New Zealand in Auckland ) he scored the first of four
Test centuries. He scored a century in his maiden Ashes Test.
In 1985-86 Graham Marsh won in England, Holland
and Japan and helped Australia to victory in the inaugural $1 million
Dunhill Cup at St Andrews.
Peter Gilmour had five major international wins in
six match-race series. The Liberty Cup in the US, the Lymington Cup in
England, the Grundig Cup in France, the Australian Cup at Fremantle and
the Nippon Cup in Japan all went to the man with nerves of steel at the
wheel. As if all this were not enough, he went over to America and
whipped the cream of the world's skippers in the Congressional Cup in
California. He won the 12-metre Challenge in Sydney and was deservedly
named Australian Yachtsman of the Year.
Tom Stachewicz won a gold medal in the men's 4 x
200m freestyle relay at the Commonwealth Games in 1986 and also a
bronze in the 200m freestyle event. In 1987 Tom broke the Commonwealth
record in the 200m freestyle at the NOK International championship in
East Berlin in a time of 1:49:32sec being the first Australian to break
the 1:50sec time.
Ric Charlesworth played in six Champions Trophy
tournaments from 1980 to 1988, winning gold medals in 1983 and 1985. He
won a World Cup gold in 1986.
Elspeth Clement, vice-captain of Australia's
triumphant gold medal women's hockey team at the Seoul Olympics, bowed
out of big hockey after a record 101 appearances for Australia. The
resolute defender was outstanding and inspirational throughout the
two-week Olympic tournament, especially in the semi-final and the final
against host nation South Korea. In addition to her Olympic gold medal,
she captained the WA team that won the national championship for the 36
th time in 42 years.
On the 1989 Ashes tour of England Terry Alderman
finished with 41 wickets at an average of 17.36, just failing to equal
his record of 42 wickets set in the 1981 series in England. He won
Series and Man of the Match in the first Test at Headingley.
At home Terry headed the first-class averages with
48 wickets at 20.94 and topped the Sheffield Shield averages with 35
wickets at 19.20.
Fast bowler Bruce Reid, dogged by recurring back
injuries for much of his career, took 27 wickets in the Ashes victory
series over England. His record equalling 13-148 in the second Test in
Melbourne capped one of the game's great comebacks.
Reid appeared destined for the scrap heap after
breaking down in Pakistan but returned to action after a steel bar was
placed in his spine to hold together two troublesome vertebrae. He
signalled he was ready for a return to international cricket with 11
wickets against SA in the Sheffield Shield match in Adelaide.
Ian Brown's dedication was rewarded after missing
selection in the Australian team for the 1986 Commonwealth Games when
he was not only selected for the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games, but
came home with two gold medals and one silver. His winning time of 3
min 49.91 sec in Auckland made him the fourth fastest man in the world
over 400m during 1990. His other gold medal was won in the 4 x 200m
freestyle relay and the silver came in the 200m individual freestyle.
Roger Mackay was at one time a joint holder of the
Heineken Classic course record of 63 along with 1991 British Open
champion Ian Baker-Finch. Roger won the Visa Taeheiyo tournaments on
the Japan Golf Tour during 1991.
In 1990 Shelley Taylor-Smith gave up school
teaching to concentrate on a professional career as a long-distance
swimmer, contesting nine marathon events in the 12 months to 30
September 1991 – and won them all.
Shelley's most important success came on 10
January by becoming the first WA swimmer to win a gold medal in the
16-year history of the World Championships, in the 25km marathon held
in the Swan River. Another gold came her way in the Pan Pacific
marathon in Lake Sylvan, Canada in August. Shelley was first overall,
beating some of the world's leading male long-distance swimmers in the
36km Ocean Marathon World Championship at Atlantic City, New Jersey,
stepping out of the water 6 minutes ahead of the second placegetter.
After showing enormous promise for a number of
years, Craig Parry broke through and dominated the Australian tour like
many had been predicting he would. He achieved victory in the Pyramid
Australian Masters early in the year that was followed up by claiming
the CIG NSW Open and Ford Australian PGA Championship titles.
Craig also made his mark on the international
stage where he led the US Masters field going into the last day before
blowing out to finish tied for 13 th .
Ramon Anderson, a PE teacher, won a bronze medal
in kayaking at the Barcelona Olympics in August 1992. His big moment
came when he was a member of the four-man kayak 1000 crew that finished
third behind Germany and Hungary in the final.
Peter Matera, a verteran of 253 matches, could lay
claim to being one of the greatest players in the Eagles club history.
Twice he was runner-up in the Brownlow Medal and in that 1992 grand
final produced his signature performance, with five goals off a wing
and winning the Norm Smith medal in the triumph.
In 1993 Ramon Andersson won the World K2
Championship in Brisbane with fellow Olympian Steve Wood as his
partner, giving Australia its first gold medal in this class. Apart
from the World Marathon title, Ramon had many other successes winning
the K1 10,000m and K2 500m at the US National Championships.
He was also a member of the first Australian K2 to
make the finals of the 500m and 1000m at the World Sprint Racing
Championships in Copenhagen and just for good measure he won 6 titles
from 500m to the marathon at the Australian Championships in Adelaide.
With current personal bests of 100m 10:25sec, 200m
20:18sec and 400m 45.76sec Dean Capobianco blitzed the field in the
Australian Athletic Championships 100m sprint with his 10:25sec.
Dean became the fastest white man in the world
when 5th in Stuttgart, leading the field into the straight to record a
new personal best of 20:18sec. His 5th in the 200m final in a time of
20:18sec was the best performance by a West Australian at Olympic Games
or World Championship level since Herb Elliott won the 1500m in Rome in
1960.
At the World Championships Darryn Hill won silver
in the Sprint. He won bronze in the same event at the Commonwealth
Games and picked up silver in the 1000m time trial. He won both the
Sprint and Kierin events in Tokyo at the Grand Prix meet.
Darryn finished fourth in the lucrative 38-race
Kierin racing series at six different venues throughout Japan . He was
second in the 22-event preliminary series, then competed in another 16
races in the elite division. Darryn finished 1994 ranked number two in
the world in the sprint.
Darryn Hill won the Sprint World Championship in
Bogota, Colombia. Also won gold medals in the Sprint at World Cup meets
in Adelaide and Tokyo.
Luc Longley was a member of the Chicago Bulls team
during back-to-back NBA Championship wins. During the season, Luc was
the starting centre for the Bull's and a key player in the defence of
big opposition teams. Being the starting centre during the play-offs he
averaged 25 minutes court time. He was nominated for the All-Star play
off game and was ranked the 7 th best centre in the NBA competition by
a public newspaper poll. There are 32 teams that compete in the NBA
competition.
Robert Scott won Silver at the Atlanta Olympic
Games in the Stroke Australia's Men's Pair, Gold in the International
Championships in Cologne , Silver in Dvisburg, Gold in the pre-Olympic
trials in Lucerne . He came first in the Open Pair Stroke, Open Coxless
Four Stroke & Open Eight Stroke at the National Championships.
Luc Longley was a member of the Chicago Bulls team
during back-to-back NBA Championship wins.
Lucy Tyler-Sharman won the gold medal in the
Women's individual pursuit race at the World championships in 1998.
Justin Langer is a top class batsman with the
Western Warriors and the Australian Cricket team. He is Australia 's No
3 batsman and was named Man of the Series at the 1999 home series
against Pakistan scoring 331 runs at an average of 82.75.
Rechelle Hawkes captained the Australian Women's
Hockey Team, the Hockeyroos, to win Gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympic
Games against nine other countries. She was also prominent in
Australia's third placing in the Champion's Trophy tournament, which is
contested by the world's top six teams.
Dmitri Markov cleared 6.05 metres to win the pole
vault at the world championships. It was one of the highest recorded in
the world. He produced his best performance in the world for the year
at the Monaco Athletics grand prix on 21st July.
Simon Black took out Australian football's
greatest individual honour when he won the Brownlow Medal. Simon was
drafted to Brisbane from East Fremantle and was a member of the
back-to-back Brisbane Lions premiership winning team. He was also
selected for the All-Australian football team.
Adam Gilchrist's outstanding Test record for 2003
included 10 Test Matches and 12 Innings plus 18 Matches and 18 Innings
in the One Day Internationals. Average Highest Score in the Test
Matches was 133 runs with a total of 639 runs. Competing teams were
from West Indies, England, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Average Highest
Score in the One Day Internationals was 124 runs with a total of 310
runs.
At the World Track Cycling Championships in
Germany , Peter Dawson came first in the Team Pursuit achieving a world
record against participants from 15 countries. Peter came first in the
Senior Men's Australian Criterium Championship with 5 other States
competing with 51 actual entries and first in the Pemberton 2 day tour,
A Grade Road Race.
Ryan Bayley was a dual gold medallist in the Men's
Sprint and Men's Keirin and 4th in the Men's Team Sprint at the Athens
Olympic Games. He is Western Australia 's first individual Olympic Gold
Medalist since Lyn McKenzie in 1968 and is Australia 's first dual
cycling gold medallist.
Ryan was placed 3rd in the Men's Sprint and 4th in
the Men's Keirin at the World Track Championships and 1st in the Men's
Sprint and 2nd in the Men's Keirin at the Oceania Track Championships.
Robin Bell became the first Australian to win a
world whitewater title by taking out the C1 gold medal at Penrith in
October. Earlier in the year, he won a silver medal in World Cup events
in Athens and Barcelona, on his way to taking out the overall World Cup
title.
West Coast Eagles Football Club captain Ben
Cousins, completed his most successful season by taking out the AFL's
major award, the Brownlow Medal. The dynamic midfielder was named in
the All-Australian team for the fifth time and equaled West Coast's
record by taking out the club's best and fairest awards for the fourth
time. During the season, Cousins was the AFL's highest kick-getter with
391, and was second in the disposals category with 612.
Paul Burgess posted some outstanding results at
international competitions during 2006. Winning the pole vault at the
World Athletic Grand Prix Final, he also claimed victories in the Rome,
Berlin and Zurich legs of the Golden League. Paul also achieved third
place in the World Athletics Tour at Rieti, Italy.
Michael Hussey completed another remarkable year
of international cricket emphasised by scoring 671 runs at the
outstanding average of 111.83 in six tests. He played a significant
part in the return of the Ashes and Australia 's 5-0 whitewash of the
series. Michael was in the highest echelons of the ICC Test and One Day
International batting rankings throughout 2007. Michael captained the
Australian team in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy against New Zealand .
2008 – Steve Hooker,
Athletics
Steve Hooker demonstrated excellent results during 2008. He
won a Gold Medal at the Beijing Olympics, after setting a Games
record of 5.96 metres to win the men's pole vault competition.
2009 - Steve
Hooker, Athletics
Steve Hooker won this Award for the second consecutive year after
displaying consistently high results throughout 2009 including winning
a Gold Medal in the men's pole vault at the 2009 World Athletics
Championships.
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