30.10.2009

Five feature in awards shortlist

On the back of one of the most successful years on the track and field stage in recent history, five Australian athletics identities have been nominated in a range of categories for the 2009 Sports Performer of the Year awards and now need your vote to secure their share of the spoils.

World pole vault title-holder Steve Hooker and world champion discus thrower Dani Samuels join a cast of 12 top performers from across 2009 in the running for the headline award, to be decided by voting members of the general public. 

Also in contention for the prize are 2009 Brownlow medalist Gary Ablett (AFL), Craig Alexander (ironman/triathlon), Victor Darchinyan (boxing), Cadel Evans (cycling), Stephanie Gilmore (surfing), Jarryd Hayne (NRL), Mitchell Johnson (cricket), Emma Moffatt (triathlon), Jess Schipper (swimming) and Formula One gun Mark Webber.

The nomination is the latest in a long line of honours to be bestowed on Hooker in 2009, the reigning Olympic champion named Male Athlete of the Year (Athletics Australia) and International Athlete of the Year (Athletics International) in March, awarded captaincy of the Australian Flame in August and earlier this month named the recipient of the prestigious Sport Australia Hall of Fame Don Award for the second year running.

Following on from an impressive start to the year that saw the reigning Olympic gold medallist set a new national record and personal best mark of 6.06m at the Boston Indoor Games in February, Hooker overcame a torn adductor muscle to leap to victory at the world track and field titles in Berlin in August with a leap of 5.95m in one of the greatest displays of triumph in the face of adversity in recent athletics memory.

But for all of his achievements in the sport so far, Hooker remains intent on smashing Sergey Bubka’s world mark and this week told Fairfax Media the 6.14m record was within reach.

''I'm having a tilt at it this summer, definitely,” Hooker said.

''I think the most important thing for me is to get physically fit. I've had a few injury problems throughout the summer in Europe, which were pretty well documented, but I think if I can overcome them and get a really good run-in to the season I'm going to have a shot at it.

''We've now got this new fantastic facility in Perth which was designed to make it easy to jump high, so I think if I get an opportunity to stay at home and do a few competitions in Perth anything can happen.

“I think (the world record) has probably always been my biggest career goal.''

Asked if he thought he would appeal to the voters, Hooker laughed: ''I didn't last year, so maybe they'll give me a chance this year.

''I don't know, I just go out there and try to perform to my best in my sport and all this other stuff is fun on top of that,'' he told Fairfax Media.

Twenty-one-year-old Dani Samuels, who became the youngest world discus champion in history and Australia’s first ever world title-holder in a field event when she claimed gold in Berlin, is also in the running for the $50,000 major prize.

In other categories pole vault guru Alex Parnov has been nominated for Coach of the Year honours for his role in guiding Hooker to world titles glory. He will vie for the prize alongside Craig Bellamy (NRL), Bart Cummings (horseracing), Mark Thompson (AFL) and Pim Verbeek (soccer).

World youth championships high jump silver medalist Amy Pejkovic has been nominated for Young Performer of the Year following her impressive performance at the IAAF youth meet in Italy in July. She joins Ben Kantarovski (football), Lauren Mitchell (gymnastics) and tennis duo Olivia Rogowska and Bernard Tomic in the running for the award.

Rounding out the athletics entries to this year’s awards is wheelchair athlete Kurt Fearnley, who this weekend will attempt to win his sixth straight marathon title for 2009 on the streets of New York. Fearnely joins Ryley Batt (wheelchair rugby), Matt Cowdrey (swimming), Justin Eveson (wheelchair basketball) and Cameron Rahles-Rahbula (winter skier) as nominees for the Sports Performer with a Disability of the Year award.

Get behind your favourite athletics stars and cast your vote for the Sports Performer of the Year awards today at: www.performerawards.com.au