Sydney Olympic Park Authority Program of the Year

Sailing
2009 was a remarkable year for the NSWIS Sailing Program.  Athletes within the program won three world championships, including Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen’s gold medal in the Men’s 49er Class, Darren Bundock’s seventh Tornado world championship victory and Nicky Souter’s match racing world championships gold medal. Lisa Darmanin and Jason Waterhouse picked up a youth world title, claiming gold in the Hobie 16 class at the 2009 Youth Sailing World Championships.

Cycling
Kaarle McCulloch got the year off to a good start for the NSWIS cycling program, claiming gold in the women’s team sprint at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. Ashlee Ankudinoff picked up a bronze in the women’s team pursuit. Megan Dunn followed up winning three golds at the 2009 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships, with Alex Carver winning gold in the men’s Madison.

Rowing
Athletes from the NSWIS Rowing Program continued to produce world class performances over the last year. Francis Hegerty and Matthew Ryan continued on from last year’s Olympic Games winning a silver in the men’s four at the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships in Poland, Nick Hudson and Dan Noonan also picked up a silver medal in the men’s quad scull.
Anna Kaszycki claimed a gold medal in the women’s four at the 2009 FISA Junior Rowing World Championships in France.

Track & Field
Dani Samuels was the highlight of the year for the NSWIS track & Field Program. Samuels won gold in the women’s discus at the 2009 IAAF Athletics World Championships. Fellow NSWIS athletes John Steffensen and Joel Milburn claimed a bronze medal in the men’s 4x400m relay at the same event, while Fabrice Lapierre finished fourth in the men’s long jump.

Swimming
At the 2009 FINA Aquatic World Championships, Libby Trickett finished the championships with one silver, from the women’s 4x100m medley relay, and two bronze medals, from the women’s 100m freestyle and women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. Fellow NSWIS athlete Andrew Lauterstein took home a bronze medal as part of the Australian men’s team in the 4x100m medley relay on the final day of competition.

Winter Sports
In the lead up to the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Winter Sports Program had a highly successful season. Holly Crawford won a silver medal at the World Snowboarding Championships in Korea, while Nathan Johnstone finished second in the overall world cup standings. 23 NSWIS athletes were selected to the Winter Olympic shadow team, a pre-cursor to selection for the Australian Olympic team heading to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.