Mollie O’Callaghan Named Australia’s Olympic Program Swimmer Of The Year At Glittering Awards Ceremony in Sydney
Teenage sensation Mollie O’Callaghan has tonight beaten an all-star field to be crowned the Australian Olympic Swimmer of the Year at a glittering awards ceremony in Sydney tonight.
A night that saw the inaugural induction of five swimming legends Freddie Lane (Dolphin #1), Fanny Durack (Dolphin #9), Dawn Fraser (Dolphin #86), Shane Gould (Dolphin #214) and Ian Thorpe (Dolphin #494) into the Swimming Australia Hall Of Fame.
An honour that may well one day await the 18-year-old from Brisbane’s St Peters Western who has capped a stellar 12 months winning her maiden World and Commonwealth Games gold medals in the blue ribband 100m freestyle events.
Fittingly an event that saw Durack become the first ever female swimming gold medallist in Stockholm in 1912 and Fraser become the first Olympian to win three consecutive events – the 100m freestyle in 1956, 1960 and 1964.
O’Callaghan’s 2022 successes came after a golden Olympic apprenticeship where she swam in the heats of Australia’s gold medal winning 4x100m freestyle and medley relays.
And she wasted no time launching an international individual career in a group of Australian female freestylers that have taken the world by storm.
In 2022 the name “Mollie O” has become the name on so many swimming lips – as she joined fellow stars Emma McKeon, Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown, Zac Stubblety-Cook and Elijah Winnington in a group of swimming superstars that has captured the imagination of the Australian sporting public.
She became Australia’s latest world champion in Budapest – joining the likes of Jodie Henry, Libby Trickett and Cate and Bronte Campbell as winners of the 100m freestyle and the coveted Swimmer of the Year Award.
In a remarkable rise for O’Callaghan her 2022 successes included 13 medals across the FINA World Championships and Birmingham Commonwealth Games, becoming the youngest woman in 30 years to win the 100m freestyle World Championship when he USA’s Nicole Haislett won the title in Perth in 1991 and also being a member of two World Record breaking relay teams.
AND THE WINNER IS: Rowan Crothers, Australia’s Program Swimmer Of The Year. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
Joining O’Callaghan on the top of the podium was Paralympic Swimmer of the Year Rowan Crothers, who had a year in which the boy from Brisbane’s Yeronga Park cemented himself as the fastest male freestyle sprinter with a disability in the world, securing the 50 and 100m freestyle double at the World Para Swimming Championships in Madeira, Portugal.
In 2020 Crothers claimed his maiden Paralympic gold medal and he has quickly become one of the faces of Australia’s Paralympic program.
In other awards, Noosa’s Nicholas Sloman was named Open Water Swimmer of the Year after securing the 5km/10km double at the Australian Championships before an impressive three race campaign at the Open Water World Championships in Budapest in June.
Dean Boxall was crowned both Olympic and Youth Coach of the Year alongside Kate Sparkes as the Paralympic Coach of the Year, while Sloman’s coach John Rodgers took home his fourth consecutive Open Water Coach of the Year award.
William Yang and Sam Short were also named joint winners of the AIS Discovery of the Year following their breakthrough campaigns at the FINA World Championships in Budapest.
Other winners on the night included Phil Jobling as the Roger Smith Technical Official of the Year, the Immanuel Piranhas Swim Club as Club of the Year and Emy Simsic from Geelong Swimming Club as Local Legend of the Year.
Swimming Australia CEO, Eugénie Buckley, congratulated the star Dolphins trio on their incredible achievements.
“We are immensely proud of all that Rowan, Mollie and Nicholas have achieved this year and fortunate to have ambassadors for our sport like them that represent the commitment, excellence and humility so central to being a Dolphin,” Buckley said.
“Their accolades are reflective of the collective success of our Dolphins teams across this incredible year, including our most successful overseas Commonwealth Games campaign on record and a piece of history in Portugal that saw our Para World Championship team become the first Australian travelling swim team where every eligible athlete returned home with a medal.”
“This team continues to set the standard and, in doing so, inspires the next generation of Dolphins and for that they deserve our admiration and respect. Tonight has been a fitting celebration of all our athletes have achieved, in conjunction with their coaches and the support staff, while representing us with such pride on the international stage.”
2022 Swimming Australia Awards winners
Olympic Program Swimmer of the Year
Mollie O’Callaghan
Nominees: Kaylee McKeown, Zac Stubblety-Cook and Elijah Winnington
Paralympic Program Swimmer of the Year
Rowan Crothers
Nominees: Katja Dedekind and Paige Leonhardt
Open Water Program Swimmer of the Year
Nick Sloman
Nominees: Moesha Johnson, Bailey Armstrong and Chelsea Gubecka
AIS Discovery of the Year
Will Yang and Sam Short
Nominees: Alex Saffy and Lani Pallister
Olympic Program Coach of the Year
Dean Boxall
Paralympic Program Coach of the Year
Kate Sparkes
Open Water Program Coach of the Year
John Rodgers
Roger Smith Technical Official of the Year
Phil Jobling
Club of the Year
Immanuel Piranhas Swim Club Inc (IMSC)
Local Legend of the Year
Emy Simsic
Swimming Australia Hall of Fame inaugural inductees
Fred Lane,Fanny Durack,Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould,Ian Thorpe,