Athletics SA Awards Presentation Luncheon 

Presented by VIVA

SA Athletes assemble to celebrate outstanding achievements 

By Tyler Maund 

It was a day of celebration on Sunday, as South Australia’s finest athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers were recognised at the 2022-23 Athletics SA Awards Presentation Luncheon. 

The 2022 Winter and 2022-23 Summer seasons featured extraordinary performances from South Australian participants at home and abroad, from Aidan Murphy’s 100m State record on track, to Jessica Stenson’s Marathon triumph in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.  

The 2022-23 season saw 123 state records broken, with many familiar faces once again having remarkable years, whilst there was also the emergence of some new names that will be prominent for years to come.  

Olympic Steeplechaser Matthew Clarke and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Jessica Stenson were awarded the Open Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year honours, with Stenson a big winner on the day, crowned Athletics SA Athlete of the Year for 2022-23.  

It was a tremendous year for Stenson, who won the ASA 10km Road Championships before posting a personal best in the Launceston 10km. This was an indication of things to come, as Stenson won Commonwealth Games Gold in the Marathon in Birmingham with a time of 2:27:31.  

“Winning the Commonwealth Games Marathon was a career highlight in so many ways, it was a moment where everything came together,” said Stenson, who is now expecting her second child with husband Dylan. Stenson went on to win the ASA 5km Road Championships, Australian 12km Road Running Championships and Melbourne Half Marathon. 

The year culminated with a ninth-placed finish in the New York City Marathon at a time of 2:27:27 – four seconds faster than her Commonwealth Games performance. It wasn’t all smooth-sailing however, as a bone-stress injury threatened to derail her 2022 targets.  

“At the start of the year I sustained my second femur bone injury, which was a real blow,” she said.  “As a mum, it doesn’t affect just you anymore, it’s your ability to go down to the playground and carry your toddler, I found that injury really tough. “It was so rewarding to get back into training and run a road 10km PB in June, which fuelled my confidence.” 

Despite the demands of motherhood, Stenson is showing no signs of slowing down, eyeing a return to national honours in the coming years.  “Even though I’m pregnant at the moment, I’m really hoping to run some personal bests down the track and hopefully wear the green and gold again,” she said. “We’ve got so many strong women running at their best in their late 30s to early 40s, it’s really opened up everyone’s eyes to what is possible.”  “It’s fuelled my belief. Anything is possible if you can keep yourself healthy.” 

Emerging sprinter Aidan Murphy and Olympic distance-runner Isobel Batt-Doyle won the Open In Stadium Athlete of the Year Awards. It was a huge twelve months for 19-year-old Murphy, who continues to announce himself as one of the brightest young talents in Australian athletics. Murphy won a further three awards on Sunday, being crowned Men’s U20 In Stadium Athlete of the Year, Scotchy Gordon Trophy (Best Male Sprinter) and Brian Wyld Junior Athlete of the Year. 

Murphy’s selection on his first major championships team at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon and World U20 Championships in Columbia were significant highlights, alongside his record-breaking performance at the South Australian Athletics Championships, setting a new mark in both the State Open and U20 100m with a time of 10:33. 

Batt-Doyle turned in another strong season following her Athlete of the Year award in 2021. “Last year was challenging, following my breakout season in 2021, it is difficult to back it up again,” said Batt-Doyle. “I struggled with chronic hamstring issues which meant racing and training was quite uncomfortable.” 

Batt-Doyle ran a 10,000m personal best of 31:40:10 in London in May, before being selected for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where she placed eighth in both the 5,000m and 10,000m races. “I was pleased with the season I was able to put together.

“The Commonwealth Games was such an incredible experience, having crowds watching us again, compared to the Tokyo Olympics where we didn’t get that atmosphere.” In an environment that sees athletes always hungry and never satisfied, Batt-Doyle says it’s a great opportunity to stop and reflect on recent achievements. “I relish the opportunity to go to these events, it’s great to be able to interact with people in SA and the running community. “It means a lot to be recognised from the place that has built me into the athlete I am today.”  

Thrower Hugo Taheny was awarded Para Athlete of the Year, breaking his three State records in the Open Discus (1kg), Shot Put (4kg) and Javelin (600g) with 32.93m, 11.45m and 21.90m throws. Tahenys’ 32.93m throw in the Open Discus at the State All-School Championships smashed his previous record of 31.32m. 

Hugo is also the current Virtus World record holder in four events (Shot Put, Discus, Javelin and 4 x 100m relay). 

Taheny wasn’t able to attend the awards presentation, but took the opportunity to thank his coach and family for their support over a video message. “I want to congratulate our athletes who achieved award’s,” said Taheny. “Thanks to my coach Steven. “To the people on my journey, and my family, I want to say thanks.” 

Sprinter Lakara Stallan was awarded the Di Burge Award (Best Female Sprinter) and broke two State records over the twelve month period.  

Stallan clocked a State record 11:51 in the U20 100m, and a 23:62 in the U20 200m at the ACT U20 & Open Track & Field Championships, surpassing records that had stood for over 30 years. She then lowered her 200m time to 23.34 at the Australian Athletics Championships in Brisbane.  

Race walker Olivia Sandery was one of five athletes to win multiple awards on the day as she won the Women’s U20 In Stadium & Women’s U20 Out of Stadium honours. Sandery won a Bronze medal at the Australian and Oceania Race Walking Championships in Melbourne, completing the 20km in a time of 1:34:35, whilst she also finished fourth in the World U20 Championships in Columbia, with a time of 47:37:85 in the 10km event. 

Veteran Race walker Kim Mottrom was awarded Outstanding Race Walker of the Year. 

Marley Raikiwasa was last year’s Junior Athlete of the Year, and is continuing to make waves as a rising star in the athletics world. Raikiwasa was awarded the Women’s U18 In Stadium Athlete of the Year honour, along with the Caroline Jackman Trophy for Throws (Best Performance for Junior Women). Raikiwasa broke the Shot Put U18 (3kg) and U20 (4kg) State records with throws of 16.88m and 14.27m, along with the Discus U18 & U20 (1kg) records with a throw of 54.00m. 

17-year-old High Jumper Chelsea Friedrich won the Alan Iverson Award (Best High Jumper) and is South Australia’s highest ranked High Jumper. Friedrich also won the TB Dodds Memorial Shield (Outstanding Field Games Performance at State Championships) following her score of 1004 points at the State Championships. 

The Flinders Athletics Club was awarded Club of the Year (Mangos Family Trophy) whilst Adam Didyk (High Performance) and Steve Larsson (Athlete Development) won the Coach of the Year awards.  

It was also a huge year for those involved in the industry that aren’t breaking records, but are instead making sure every event goes ahead as planned, with officials and volunteers recognised for their efforts. 

Malcolm Bray was awarded the Official of the Year Award (Pat Peters), Johanna Pretorius won the Emerging Official of the Year honour and Joe Stevens OAM was awarded Volunteer of the Year (Tony Keynes). 

The President’s Award was won by Jason Stevens.   

Congratulations to all.