OLYMPIC soccer player Emily Van Egmond and cliff diving champion Rhiannan Iffland have been named joint winners of the Lake Macquarie City Sportsperson of the Year title.
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The 32nd annual Lake Macquarie sports dinner was held at Belmont 16 Footers on Saturday night.
There were seven award categories.
Lake Macquarie City Council’s community planning manager John Ferguson said Van Egmond and Iffland had excelled in their sports in 2016.
“Rhiannan, from Nords Wharf, and Emily, from Speers Point, have both represented Australia on the international sporting stage with outstanding results,” Mr Ferguson said.
“It is inspiring to see two young athletes working hard and succeeding at an elite sporting level. Rhiannan, in her debut season, won the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, becoming the first Australian to do so.
“While Emily, who has been playing football internationally since 2011, represented her country as a member of the Matildas at the Rio Olympics reaching the quarter-finals and just missing out on a platform finish.”
It is inspiring to see two young athletes working hard and succeeding at an elite sporting level.
- - John Ferguson
Iffland made her cliff diving debut in 2016 as a wildcard entry into the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
She started diving in primary school under the coaching of Hunter United Diving Academy founder Eric Brooker and was invited to join the NSW Institute of Sport squad as a teenager.
Last year, she set new standards in cliff diving, scoring five victories and two podium finishes to win the world series.
Van Egmond began playing soccer at age five and began her professional career in 2009 playing for Canberra United.
She has played in national and international football leagues.
In 2016, she represented the Matildas in the Olympics where they reached the quarter-finals. Van Egmond also represented the Matildas at the Olympic qualifiers in March where they won the tournament. Last year, she signed a contract with the Wolfsburg football team in Germany.
Other winners were.-
- Junior female sportsperson of the year, Lara McSpadden (basketball);
- Junior male sportsperson of the year, Tom Crockett (sailing);
- Junior encouragement award, Beth Slade (luge);
- Sports scholarship for athletes with a disability, Erin Cleaver (athletics);
- Norm Johnson memorial administrator of the year, Allan Graham (croquet); and
- Masters sportsperson of the year, John Domandl and Paul McGlynn (triathlon).
Allan Graham, of Toronto Croquet Club, was a popular winner of the Norm Johnson memorial administrator award. A three-time club champion, Graham also coaches groups from U3A, Charlton College and Toronto High School.
