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Honour for Saville
Athletics Australia has much pleasure in bestowing the Edwin Flack Award for 2009 on Jane Saville.
President of Athletics Australia, Rob Fildes, AM, made the presentation to Saville at the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday night.
Named in honour of this country’s first Olympic gold medallist, the Edwin Flack Award recognises an athlete who has rendered distinguished service to Australian athletics.
Since the inception of the award in 1982, recipients have included Robert de Castella, Glynis Nunn-Cearns, Simon Baker, Cathy Freeman and Steve Moneghetti.
In 2009, the presentation of the Edwin Flack Award happens to coincide with the announcement Saville’s retirement following an outstanding career in athletics - both on and off the track.
An international career that began in 1990, continued with success for more than 18 years and included 24 major team appearances in the green and gold.
Three Commonwealth Games gold medals, an Olympic bronze and a silver at the World Junior Championships are a measure of the quality of performance – to which can be added eleven Australian Championships and five junior titles.
But for many Australians their strongest recollection of Jane Saville will be of that heart-breaking moment in her career that occurred just a few hundred metres from here in 2000.
Yet even more memorable perhaps is the dignity with which Saville handled the situation – both during and after her disqualification. It was something that drew the admiration of athletics followers from all over the world.
It also clearly had an impact on her fellow countrymen and women, for when the next major Games came to Australia six years later, it was Saville who was a most popular choice to lead the host nation’s team onto the Melbourne Cricket Ground at the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.
Despite her retirement form competition announced last month, Jane continues to have an active involvement in her sport – from coaching youngsters at grass roots level through to representing Australia and Oceania on the IAAF Walking Committee.
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