Madison de Rozario, Sam Kerr and Jai Hindley among nominees for SportWest’s WA Sports Star Award
A golden year for the state’s women athletes is reflected in the 2022 WA Sports Star Award nominations.
Nine of the 12 athletes nominated for the state’s top individual athletic awards are women, and the winner is scheduled to be crowned at Optus Stadium on Thursday.
Running since 1956, the awards boast a who’s who of WA’s sporting royalty among their past winners, including Justin Langer, Nat Fyfe, Adam Gilchrist, Dennis Lillee, Ben Cousins and Luc Longley.
Reigning WA sports star Madison de Rozario has been nominated again after another golden year in which she was named Australia’s Paralympian of the Year in June and won two golds at the Commonwealth Games.
She will seek to become the first consecutive winner of the award since Sam Kerr in 2018 but will face stiff opposition from the Chelsea star himself, who finished third in Ballon d’Or voting and Tim Cahill’s record for most caps broke team goals by an Australian.
West Coast Fever captain Courtney Bruce is also in the running after starring in her team’s first Super Netball title.
Pole vaulter Nina Kennedy enjoyed a breakthrough year on the world track and field scene as she cemented herself as world number two after a bronze medal at the World Championships in Oregon and a first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Another star to win his first-ever Commonwealth gold medal was Matthew Richardson as the cyclist from the northern suburbs won double gold medals at the Veledrome.
A fellow two-wheeler in the mix is Jai Hindley, who went from strength to strength in 2022 as he became one of the world’s top road cyclists, winning the Giro d’Italia to become only the second Australian after Cadel Evans to win a Grand Tour.
LPGA World No. 5 Minjee Lee enjoyed a career year in 2022 thanks to her second major title win, the US Women’s Open, and also received the Rolex Annika Major Award for most consistent player on the tour at the five majors.
Alana King made her debut for the Women’s Test team in January and helped the team win the Ashes, the World Cup and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Perth Lynx skipper Sami Whitcomb led the Opals to second place in World Cup qualifiers before averaging 11 points and 3.6 assists per game to help Australia to a bronze medal at the Cup.
Kristina Krstic became only the second Western Australian to win a gold medal in the Lawn Bowl when she triumphed in pairs at the Commonwealth Games.
Canoe sprinter Yale Steinpreis fielded her first senior national team last year and reached the A-finals of all events she competed in at the two ICF Canoe Sprint World Cups in which she competed.
Another canoeist, para-athlete Benjamin Sainsbury, was nominated for the award after winning gold in VL1 200 at the 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Canada.
Sandra O’Keefe (Calisthenics), Derek Gatley (Dance Sport, Ballroom Dancing) and Ian Toy (Lacrosse) will all receive the May Campbell Medal for their dedication to the sport after having combined nearly 200 years of service.
