What a year so far in sport for both Australian men and women.
While the numerous drugs sagas and charges of corruption have kept men’s sport firmly in the limelight for all the wrong reasons, our women have been enjoying a fantastic year. For all the right reasons!
Unfortunately there has been limited media coverage of their individual feats- perhaps because they’re women and we’re not talking AFL, NRL or cricket- but 2013 has witnessed plenty of our incredible sportswomen compete and clinch world champion status.
Canoe Slalom
Our most recent world champion is NSWIS paddler Jessica Fox who has continued an unbelievable run of form by claiming canoe slalom gold at the 2013 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in the Czech Republic.
Fox teamed up with Rosalyn Lawrence and Alison Borrows to secure world champion status in the women’s team C1. The trio finished just 1.49 seconds ahead of second place to secure gold, confirming Australia’s dominance in the non-Olympic C1 event.
The world championship gold comes just over one year after Fox took silver in the women’s K1 at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Triathlon
The run of world champions started back in June when Melissa Hauschildt won the ITU Long Distance Triathlon world championship in very testing conditions in Belfort, France. Conditions were freezing so organisers banned the swim leg and decided on a 9.5km run, 87km bike leg and 20km run. Hauschildt had to wear layers and layers of clothes to keep warm but came from behind to catch the leaders in the final leg.
Wollongong triathlete Charlotte McShane timed her run to perfection to become Australia’s latest triathlon world champion clinching the gold medal in the Women’s ITU Under 23 World Triathlon Championship in London recently. A month before she won the 2013 British Triathlon Championships in Liverpool, England.
Rowing
Kim Crow created rowing history by becoming the first Australian woman to win the single sculls world championship in South Korea in August. Crow had created history at the London Olympics by entering the single sculls and the double sculls, winning silver medals in both. Now she has gone one better.
Taekwondo
In Mexico, Australia had another new world champion, Carmen Marton, 27, who won the 62kg taekwondo World Championship final. The two time Olympian won all of her six fights.
BMX
In Auckland, New Zealand, Caroline Buchanan won the women’s BMX World Championships, putting the disappointment of a fifth place at the London Olympics behind her.
Para-Cycling
Carol Cooke is a world champion after winning the UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championship.
Living with MS every day, Cooke has an amazing story to tell.
She was a national level swimmer in Canada while she was growing up, and married an Australian. Her unstoppable nature and a passion for sport led her to take up competitive rowing in December of 2006.
After making the Australian Rowing Team in 2008, she competed at the World Rowing Championships in 2009, coming away with 6th place. She has held a scholarship at the Victorian Institute of Sport since 2007 and has now taken up the sport of para-cycling in the trike class.
At the London Paralympics, Carol beat the men to win a gold medal in the mixed T1-T2 road time trial. At the end of 2012, Carol was ranked number one in the world in the Female T2 category.
Rugby League
The Jillaroos won the 2013 Women’s Rugby League World Cup, defeating three-time champions New Zealand 22-12 in the final in Leeds, England, in August. The Jillaroos trailed the Kiwiferns12-8 early in the second half before finishing the decider with 14 unanswered points.
It has been an absolutely amazing and wonderful few months of Australian women performing brilliantly at world championships. We are so proud of them all.