Video edit courtesy of Coleman Hodges.
Press release courtesy of Swimming Australia:
For only the second time in history, the coveted Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimmer of the Year Award has been shared – this year by triple FINA World Championship gold medallists Bronte Campbell and Emily Seebohm.
Campbell and Seebohm both won double gold at the recent Championships in Kazan, Russia and were team mates on Australia’s gold medal winning 4x100m freestyle relay team.
Australia’s other double gold medalist and Commonwealth record holder from Kazan, also in the 100 and 200m backstroke, Mitch Larkin, won the coveted Swimmer’s Swimmer of the Year Award while his coach at St. Peters Western, Michael Bohl was awarded the Hancock Prospecting Olympic Program Coach of the Year.
Swimming Australia president John Bertrand OAM made the presentation at a glittering black tie awards night at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Bronte Campbell won gold in the 50 and 100m freestyle with sister Cate taking the bronze and both girls combining with Seebohm and Emma McKeon on the all-conquering sprint freestyle relay.
Campbell also seals another slice of history, joining sister Cate, the winner of the prestigious Australian Swimmer of the Year award in 2013 and 2014, as the only siblings to win the award. She also became the first Australian to win the 50 and 100m freestyle double.
Seebohm became the first Australian to win the 100 and 200m backstroke double at her fifth FINA World Championships, after making her debut in Melbourne in 2007.
It is the first time the award has been shared since Olympic golden boys Ian Thorpe andGrant Hackett were named joint winners in 2003.
The pair were also named the Hancock Prospecting Olympic Program Swimmers of the Year while earlier in the evening Seebohm shared the Speedo Golden Moment of the Year with Paralympic golden girl Ellie Cole.
Seebohm capped her Midas world championships with her victory over USA’s Olympic champion Missy Franklin and multi-world champion and medley world record holder, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu in the 200m backstroke.
The 23-year-old sat on her lane rope and smashed the water in celebration in a glorious golden moment of rejoicing a special victory.
For Cole, her performance to come back from two years away from international competition and break two world records in one day on her way to a gold medal in the 100m backstroke at the IPC World Championships in Glasgow was worthy of sharing the moment with Seebohm.
But it was Newcastle’s Commonwealth Games gold medallist Maddie Elliott who was named the Paralympic Swimmer of the Year for her gold medal-winning, world record breaking swims in Glasgow.
Elliott won four gold medals in the S8 category in the 100m freestyle (world record), 4x100m 34-point freestyle relay, 100m backstroke and 50m freestyle, setting a new world record in the 100m freestyle.
The AIS Discovery of the Year Award wet to 13-year-old Ravenswood Year Eight student Tiffany Thomas Kane who made an historic debut in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB6, winning gold in a world record breaking time.
Thomas Kane, who was born with hypochondroplasia and is a girl of short stature, clocked a new world record time of 1:34.95 to claim the gold medal at her first international meet, after her world record breaking efforts at the Australian Championships in Sydney in March earned her selection on the Australian Dolphins team.
Here is the full list of the 2015 Honour Roll:
2015 HANCOCK PROSPECTING SWIMMER OF THE YEAR AWARDS
HONOUR ROLL
Speedo Golden Moment of the Year: Ellie Cole (Castle Hill RSL Dolphins, NSW) Emily Seebohm (Brisbane Grammar, QLD)
Services to the Australian Swim Team presented by Speedo: Andrew Lauterstein, Eamon Sullivan, Hayden Stoeckel, Matt Cowdrey, Leith Brodie, Matt Targett
Volunteer of the Year: Rosie Hatton – Casuarina Swimming Club, (Northern Territory)
Roger Smith Technical Official of the Year: John Rohloff (NSW)
People’s Choice Award: Lakeisha Patterson (University of Sunshine Coast, QLD)
Hancock Prospecting Swimmer’s Swimmer of the Year: Mitch Larkin (St Peters Western, QLD)
Age Group Coach of the Year: Chris Nesbit (TSS Aquatic, QLD)
Open Water Coach of the Year: Michael Sage (Kawana Aquatic Centre, QLD)
The Brisbane Convention Centre Club of the Year: South Esk Swimming Club (Tasmania)
Hancock Prospecting Paralympic Program Coach of the Year: Paul Sharman (NUSwim Swim Club, NSW)
Hancock Prospecting Olympic Program Coach of the Year: Michael Bohl (St Peters Western, QLD)
AIS Discovery of the Year: Tiffany Thomas Kane (Ravenswood Swimming Club, NSW)
Open Water Swimmer of the Year: Chelsea Gubecka (Kawana Waters, QLD)
Paralympic Swimmer of the Year: Maddie Elliott (NUSwim Swim Club, NSW)
Olympic Program Swimmers of the Year: Bronte Campbell (Commercial, QLD) and Emily Seebohm (Brisbane Grammar, QLD)
2015 Hancock Prospecting Swimmers of the Year: Bronte Campbell (Commercial, QLD) and Emily Seebohm (Brisbane Grammar, QLD)
Above is a press release, courtesy Swimming Australia.
I watched the 50fr from worlds on YouTube and it makes me sick thinking about what these girls have done to Paralympic swimming
Exactly TA it’s sickening! I also watched the races and the medal presentations which were akin to a walk of shame!
The IPC need to address the process of classifying neurologically impaired swimmers as Medical classifiers with a Physiotherapy background just don’t cut the mustard. It is an obvious flaw in the classification process and for sure it is being abused by all parties including the IPC, just not as blatantly as Australia. These two are in a class of their own.
The IPC have created their own mess and they need to fix it pronto!! If they can’t legally prove IM, they are most certainly in a position to reclassify them both first opportunity.
Craig Nicholson may… Read more »
I would imagine that Swimming Australia are in a position to instigate an Integrity Panel hearing for this one.
This would allow swimmer Maddison Elliott an opportunity to explain why she swam not only slowly but with less technique during her classification. In her own words.
Patterson will also be able to explain her multitude of classifications and disease timeline – which importantly includes Not Eligible prior to CP diagnosis.
Their Australian Swim team mates will also be able to disclose what was shared with them by whom, a relief I am sure for them.
John Bertram talks continually of Integrity, best practices, transparency etc etc. Let’s see these words put in to action.
My concern is not for these… Read more »
Eh, Swimming Australia, hate to break this to you but not one of the para swimmers who won awards with the exception of Ellie Cole competed in the correct class this year.
Elliott – classed S9 twice now this year, competed as S8, being investigated for IM
Patterson – competed in S8 but with her S10,NE, S9,S8,S7 history is most likely ineligible for Para Sport, time will tell.
Tiffany Kane – will be reclassed S7 next opportunity
So was this just a dress rehearsal and the real winners for para Swiming are going to be announced Monday?
That may well be the case …… and the whole classification regime is a complete pot-mess but I think AUS are far from the only country “playing” the loopholes while they can. In fact, it’s most likely common practice across the board amongst larger/best-resourced teams …. and it’s the officials who need to be pulled into line rather than the swimmers who perform “as instructed.
Commonwombat thank you for posting. I can assure you that not every Australian swimmer plays along as instructed and it is career ending for those who don’t toe the line be that either during their own classification or when being instructed not to discuss a team mates classification.
I am quite sure John Bertram and Mark Anderson are aware of the problems in the Paralympic program yet are choosing to turn a blind eye to Keogh and Pines’ antics.
The Australian Paralympic Committee are knee deep in debt to the Australian Sports Commission due to their own incompetence at board level so they aren’t going to do anything rock the boat at Swimming Australia.
Xavier Gonzalez and Sir Phillip Craven… Read more »