NSW Sport Awards: Alex Stewart – Coach of the Year, Janelle Delaney – Masters Athlete of the Year

29 November 2022

NSW Sport Awards: Alex Stewart – Coach of the Year, Janelle Delaney – Masters Athlete of the Year

Last night at a gala evening at the ICC in Sydney, Janelle Delaney and Alex Stewart won major NSW Sport Awards for 2022. Janelle was named NSW Masters Athlete of the Year and Alex Stewart NSW Coach of the Year. They were two of seven NSW members who were named finalists in the prestigious NSW Sports Awards for 2022.

Our finalists and winners were in esteemed company with some of the other finalists including Socceroo coach Graham Arnold, Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins and 8-time World Surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore.

Alex Stewart, coach of world champion high jumper Eleanor Patterson, defeated Graham Arnold and Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, Jess Fox’s mother and coach for the award.

Alex who has also guided Brandon Starc throughout his career, coached Eleanor to a special year in high jump with her winning the world title, and claimed silver at the World Indoors and Commonwealth Games.

Alex joins an amazing list of previous winners – a who’s who of NSW coaching elite including:

Rugby coach, Michael Cheika, Olympic sailing great Victor Kovalenko, AFL winning coach with the Swans John Longmire, basketball coach Brian Goorjian and NRL winning coach with the Sydney Roosters in 2002 – Ricky Stewart.

Athletics only previous winner, since the awards were inaugurated in 1994, was Louise Sauvage in 2018.

Janelle Delaney, the World Masters 50-year 400m champion, won the Masters Athlete of the Year category. She had also won gold as a member of two Australian relay teams in Finland. Her nomination highlighted the global nature of athletics, where even at Masters level 90 countries competed at the world championships. Her main competition was swimming world masters champion Tony Goodwin and a former world archer indoor champion Elizabeth Hole.

Janelle becomes just the second athletics winner of the award, following Marie Kay who claimed the honour on three occasions in 2010, 2007 and 2005.

In the Athlete of the Year category, Eleanor Patterson was in elite company as 8-time World Surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore won from Eleanor, 4-time winner of the award Jessica Fox and Australian Test captain Pat Cummins.

Another athletics finalist, who must have come close to winning was, Kirsten Crocker in the Official of the Year category. Kirsten, who officiated at the world championships and Commonwealth Games, is one of just 23 appointed to the International Race-Walking Judges Panel for the period 2019 to 2022. The award was claimed by Commonwealth Games cricket umpire Claire Polosak. No athletics official is yet to have won the award.

NSW’s other finalists were Commonwealth champion athlete Evan O’Hanlon, Commonwealth Games athletes Sarah Clifton-Bligh and Indi Cooper (Indi nominated by NSW Little Athletics).

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW