16 December 2016

The other day, Kim Brennan, of Australia, the Olympic gold medallist in the women’s single sculls at the Rio Olympics won the AIS* Female Athlete of the Year Prize at an awards ceremony at The Star in Sydney. The sculler’s gold was Australia’s first gold medal in rowing since 2008. Brennan was also a finalist for the Sports Personality of the Year and the Best Sporting Moment, The Canberra Times reported.

However, at the end it was teenager Kyle Chalmers, the Rio Olympic gold medallist swimmer, who took home the Male Athlete of the Year Prize and the Best Sporting Moment. Chloe Esposito, modern pentathlon, received the award Sports Personality of the Year.

Brennan, who also was named the ACT Female Athlete of the Year last week, is not sure if she is going to continue rowing on an international elite level. She told Fairfax Media: ‘There’s no elite sport on the horizon for me at the moment. I still love racing for my club and I still love being involved, whether that desire to compete at the top level will come back or not I don’t know but for now I’m really happy to have more time at home with my husband and to contribute to sport in a different way.’

Take a look at Australia’s sporting stars of 2016 when they attend the AIS Sport Performance Awards in Sydney:

*AIS’s role according to their website: As Australia’s strategic high performance sport agency, the AIS is responsible and accountable for leading the delivery of Australia’s international sporting success. Since 1981, the AIS has been the cradle of Australia’s national sports system – one that is recognised the world over for its ability to identify, develop and produce world, Olympic and Paralympic champions.

With international competition intensifying all the time, the AIS links sports investment to performance targets and provides world-class expertise and services – ensuring Australia’s current and emerging high performance athletes have access to the right support at the right time in their pursuit of excellence.