Women’s Health tonight awarded Paralympic superstar Madison de Rozario the Women’s Health Athlete 2022 title at the tenth annual Women In Sport (WinS) Awards at The Venue in Sydney broadcast exclusively on Fox Sports, Foxtel and Kayo Sports.
One of Australia’s biggest sporting assets, de Rozario continues to break new ground as one of this country’s most important and successful sporting figures. Accepting the top award on the night de Rozario said “As a woman in sport, I couldn’t be prouder of every single person in this room. It’s so great to be able to use our platforms to promote something much bigger than what we do on the field.”
The 28-year-old is the first Australian para-athlete to win four Commonwealth Games medals and the three-time world champion won her first Paralympic gold medal in Tokyo in the 800 metre T53 final, setting a new Games record of 1:45.99 in the process. Madison is also the first Australian woman to win gold in the T54 marathon. In Tokyo, de Rozario rounded out her medal collection with bronze in the 1,500 metre T54 final. In November 2021, de Rozario made history again, becoming the first Australian woman (in either the wheelchair or open events) to win the New York Marathon.
Australian basketball great Lauren Jackson was recognised with the coveted Hall of Fame Award. The honour, previously won by Liz Ellis (2019), Evonne Goolagong Cawley (2018), Betty Cuthbert (2017), Layne Beachley (2016) and Susie O’Neill (2015), celebrates a female athlete whose outstanding contribution to her sport has made her legendary. Jackson is a hero of Australian women’s basketball, a four-time Olympic medalist for the Opals and a three-time WNBA most valuable player.
Leadership Legend was awarded to AFLW player Chloe Dalton. Dalton won gold with the Women’s Rugby Sevens team at the Rio Olympics. Now, she’s advocating for
women in sport with a new digital platform, The Female Athlete Project (TFAP). In August 2021, she created a Go Fund Me page with the aim of raising $100,000 to be split evenly between Australia’s medal winners from the Tokyo Paralympics, after the fact they weren’t financially rewarded unlike their Olympic counterparts.
The Australian Women’s Cricket Team took out the Champion Team for the third consecutive year where they have proved to be an unstoppable force on the international sporting stage. They are currently ranked world number one in all three formats (Test, ODI and T20) assigned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the women’s game and have set multiple records over the past two years. Having already claimed both the T20 and ODI World Cups – as well as a home Ashes series victory against England – they made history again at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. By defeating India in a thrilling, nine-run win in front of a bumper crowd at Edgbaston, they became the first ever female gold medallists as the T20 format made its debut in Birmingham.
Six-time Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Cole was recognised by the Federal Government as the country’s most Outstanding Woman in Sport for 2022. Cole made global headlines as the most decorated Australian female Paralympian with six gold, five silver and six bronze medals from four Paralympic Games. With a total of 17 medals, Ellie is the most decorated Paralympian of all time.
Guests at the prestigious gala awards evening included some of the country’s biggest names, including Ellie Cole, Morgan Mitchell, Elloise Wellings, Madison de Rozario, Jessica Hull, Rhiannan Iffland, Chloe Dalton and Caroline Buchanan.
Category winners for 2022 are:
- Hall of Fame – Lauren Jackson, Basketball
- Women’s Health Athlete 2022 – Madison de Rozario, Para Athletics
- Standout Moment – Ash Barty, 2022 Australian Open win
- Champion Team – Australian Women’s Cricket Team
- Person of Sporting Influence – Nicole Livingston, General Manager AFLW, former Olympic Swimmer
- Young Achiever – Kaylee McKeown, Swimming
- Local Sporting Champion – Jacqui Dover, Basketball Referee
- Leadership Legend – Chloe Dalton, AFLW, Rugby Sevens
- One to Watch – Mary Fowler, Football
- Federal Government Award for Outstanding Woman in Sport – Ellie Cole, Paralympic Swimmer
Winners were chosen by a panel of judges including Matti Clements, Cath Cox, Christine McLouglin, Kate McLouglin, Amanda Laing and Mel Jones, as well as over 2000 public votes.
Women’s Health Editor-in-Chief Lizza Gebilagin comments, “It’s not often that so many incredible athletes from different sports are in the same room. There is nothing like the Women’s Health Women In Sport Awards where you’re surrounded by stars like Madison de Rozario, Ellie Cole and Caroline Buchanan, and celebrating the achievements of legends like Lauren Jackson and Ash Barty. It’s inspiring. And I love that Aussies everywhere were able to experience this live too, thanks to our broadcast partner, Fox Sports.
“This year’s WinS Awards is a very special one being a milestone year: our 10th annual WinS Awards. To see how far we’ve come since Women’s Health first launched this initiative, and with the continued support of the Federal Government and our sponsors, shows the true power of women in sport.”
The 2022 Women’s Health Women In Sport Awards were proudly supported by the Australian Government and made possible with thanks to our sponsors, The Australian Institute of Sport, Ecco, Under Armour, Herbalife Nutrition, Triumph, CeraVe and Lifeline.