As 2013 draws to a close, it’s customary for journalists and bloggers alike to compile the obligatory ‘best of’ lists. I don’t know why I’m surprised, but despite the 11 current world champions that happen to be Australian women, so few of our sportwomen have featured in lists of the top sporting moments for the year.
So, I got mad and I got tweeting. There was a huge response from the twitterverse, putting to bed the tired misconception that ‘nobody’ is interested in women’s sport.
Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word and contributed.
I give you, Australia’s best moments for Women in Sport for 2013.
Sam Kerr – Football
The Grand Final of the W-League between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory was a fantastic showcase of the quality of women’s football in Australia. Players from both teams wowed the crowd from Petra Larsson’s spectacular free kick to Kyah Simon cheekily shushing the Victory fans. The moment of the game has to go to Sam Kerr, her diving header and backflip celebration that made the back page of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Nominated by: @StuartGoff & @roseofhurlo
Lisa DeVanna – Football
While we’re on the world game, the best goal of the year by an Australian was scored by Lisa DeVanna for her American club side, Sky Blue FC in the National Women’s Soccer League. Don’t believe me? Well, you’d believe FIFA, right? She’s the first Aussie, man or woman, to be nominated for the prestigious Puskás award.
Nominated by @efcso, @onetui, @pizgab & @roseofhurlo
Women’s Draft – AFL
The profile of women playing Aussie Rules gets a boost with the AFL’s inaugural women’s draft. Daisy Pearce was the top pick (and player of the match) for the historic women’s round match between the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne Demons. The game was the first played as a curtain-raiser on the MCG. The Demons defeated the Bulldogs 8.5.53 to 3.3.21.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg. AFL is a very popular sport among women and an honorable mention must go to the Sydney Uni Bombers who finally defeated the Balmain Dockers in their third consecutive final against their local rivals.
Nominated by @AnnaHarrington_ & @JarrodPotter
Sarah Elliott – Cricket
Sarah Elliott scoring her Ashes ton… while breastfeeding her son during tea and lunch breaks. Enough said!
Nominated by @KelDevine
Rachel Crothers – Rugby 7s
Australia staged a stunning win against arch rivals New Zealand in the Rugby 7s World Cup. From 22-0 down, the Pearls pulled off one of the greatest comebacks ever seen in the sport. They won the match 35-27.
Debutant Rachel Crothers was the undisputed star scoring 3 tries in the final and 7 overall to make one of the greatest debuts in Australian Rugby history.
Nominated by @auswomensport
Jillaroos – Rugby League
Sevens wasn’t the only Rugby code to stick it to the Kiwis! The Jillaroos ended New Zealand’s thirteen year winning streak to take out the Rugby League World Cup 22-12. This is Australia’s first women’s World Cup win and the first defeat ever for New Zealand.
In another first, it’s also the first time the Jillaroos did not have to pay for their own way to represent their country, with the NRL footing the bill. About time.
Nominated by @auswomensport
Cate Campbell – Swimming
Cate Campbell has had a standout year, taking out gold in the 100m freestyle and silvers in the 50m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay at the 2013 World Swimming Championships.
Rebecca Williams at the Herald Sun gives a comprehensive wrap of Cate’s year.
Nominated by @StuartGoff
Caroline Buchanan – MTB & BMX
How do you come back from a disappointing Olympic Games? If you’re Caroline Buchanan you go out and bag yourself not one but two rainbow jerseys. The now 5 x World Champion added a Four Cross (MTB) and BMX to her ever growing tally.
Oh, and there’s just the little matter of being named Australian Cyclist of the Year and Australian Athlete of the Year… amongst plenty of other accolades but I’m getting exhausted just looking at that long list.
Nominated by @StuartGoff, @Reidyfour, @peter_makin
Kim Crow – Rowing
Another World Champion, Kim Crow this year became the first Australian woman to win the single sculls World Championship. She was further rewarded for her performance and named female rower of the year by the International Rowing Federation and Australian Athlete of the Year.
Nominated by @roseofhurlo
Jessica Fox – Canoe & Kayak
Jessica Fox was awarded Canoeist of the Year at the Australian Canoeing Awards and Female Athlete of the Year by the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) after an outstanding year in two disciplines on the water.
She was the first woman to win C1 and K1 gold medals at a single World Cup event and she took out the Canoe (C1) World Championship and was and runner-up in Kayak (K1).
And if that wasn’t enough, she’s also campaigning for equality at the Olympics where currently, women can compete for five gold medals in Rio, while men will race for 11. C1 isn’t one of them.
Nominated by @StuartGoff
Lisa Sthalekar – Cricket
The Southern Stars stormed to a 114 run victory over the West Indies in the T20 World Cup, a spectacular diving, one-handed catch by Lisa Sthalekar the final play of the match.
It was a fitting end for of one of the best allrounders in the world, she called stumps on her career as the only woman ever to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in ODIs finishing on 2728 runs at 30.65 and 146 wickets at 24.97.
Nominated by @KathrynWicksSMH, @Bexter7, @jasonsmith440, @AnnaHarrington_
Carmen Marton – Taekwondo
World Champion, 62kg.
Touch Football
The Australian women’s touch football team won the Super Trans Tasman Series. Again. They’ve never lost a match.
Mirinda Carfrae – Triathlon
The Hawaii Ironman World Championship is one of the toughest events in the world and Mirinda Carfrae has won it not once but twice and is the only Australian woman to do the double. This year, she did it in a record time of 8:52:14 (yes people, that’s almost 9 hours) with the fastest ever run for a woman at 2:50:38.
Nominated by @SpartaJen, @Sar_Wah
Renae Hallinan – Netball
Renae Hallinan made an amazing comeback to the Diamonds to take out not only the Australian Player of the Year Award, the Liz Eliis Diamond but also International Player of the Year.
Nominated by – @catherinejcoyle
Madonna Blyth – Hockey
“Hockeyroos captain Blyth, 28, had a blinder of a season leading the Hockeyroos to gold at both the Oceania Cup and Investec World League Semi-Final Tournament.”
Nominated by Jon Anderson, the only journalist to write a ‘best of’ article that includes an almost reasonable number of women (it’ll be reasonable when we have parity). Check it out.
Western Stars – Wheelchair Basketball
The Be Active Western Stars staged a dramatic 4th quarter comeback to take out the 2013 WNWBL Grand Final 43 – 40 over favourites, the Stacks Goudkamp Bears.
Nominated by @lachyheel
Diamonds – Netball
Constellation Cup win
Nominated by @AmandaGohr, @wagstaff_karen
Lydia Lassila – Aerial Skiing
Silver at the World Cup.
Nominated by @lorrainelock
Torah Bright – Snowboard
As we get ready for Sochi, Torah is again gearing up for Olympic gold following her win in Colorado. She earned a score of 95.40 on her first run to take out the event. Cool as you please.
Nominated by @lorrainelock
Mellisa Hauschildt – Triathlon
Won the half-ironman World Championship in Las Vegas.
Opals – Basketball
Winners of the Oceania Championships against New Zealand & qualifying for the World Basketball Championships
Kim Mickle – Javelin
Silver medal in the world titles in Moscow and name Athletics Australia Female Athlete of the Year.
Jess Trengove – Marathon
Best time run by an Australian woman
Nominated by @LorisseDart
Sally Pearson – Hurdles
Silver-medalist Sally Pearson, by six hundredths of a second in the 100m hurdles at the IAAF World Championships after returning from injury.
Nominated by @LorisseDart
Stingers – Water Polo
Silver at the World Championships
Nominated by @auswomensport
Hockeyroos – Hockey
Silver at the World League
Nominated by @auswomensport
Matildas – Football
Reach a all time high of #8 in the world in the FIFA world rankings after stunning an in-form 5th ranked French side with a 2-0 win. Special mention to the phenomenal goal keeping of Bree Davey and Lydia Williams.
Nominated by @auswomensport
Casey Dellacqua and Ashleigh Barty – Tennis
Runners-up at Wimbledon & the Australian Open this year in the doubles.
Nominated by @Stephanie85WAGY, @lachyheel/status
Penny Taylor, Lauren Jackson, Liz Cambage – Basketball
Returning from injury is always tough. The work athletes put in to return to peak form is not lost on fans. Penny Taylor, Lauren Jackson and Liz Cambage have all been an inspiration.
Karrie Webb – Golf
Karrie Webb scored a stunning final-round 65 to claim the European Masters
Nominated by @LorisseDart
Charlottle McShane – Triathlon
U23 World Champion.
Carol Cooke – Paracycling
Carol Cooke, UCI Para-Cycling Road World Champion.
Nominated by @LizLeorke
Holly Ferling – Cricket
Break-out Ashes performance by the bowler.
Nominated by @jasonsmith440
Anna Meares – Cycling
Anna Meares became the first woman to go under 33 seconds when she broke her own 500m time-trial World Record.
Nominated by @LizLeorke, @LorisseDart
Kristi Harrower – Basketball
WNBL title with Bendigo Spirit.
Nominated by @SSW_au
GO HARD OR GO HOME
That pretty much sums up all of the performances this year but none more than Alison Downie (Dandenong Rangers) and Tess Madgen (Melbourn Boomers) in the WNBL. Photographer Michelle Couling assures me there was no real damage done but you sure can’t deny the rivalry!
Nominated by: @WicalBNE
And here’s the tweet that started it all. Thanks again to everyone who voted and helped spread the word.
So many ‘2013 in sport’ roundups with all men. I’m going to write my own. What’s your fave #WomenInSport moment?
— Danielle Warby (@DanielleWarby) December 29, 2013
Love this. Thank you for fighting back against the obvious ridiculousness of leaving women out of so many of the mainstream’s supposed best of lists.
And just for the heck of it, Karrie Webb also rallied from five shots down for a two-stroke victory at this year’s Shoprite Classic on the LPGA tour. Stoked! She’s still got it.
Great work Dan, there is definitely something special about seeing all these achievements in writing in the one place. I’m inspired by the passion, athleticism and determination of all these women (including you!). Oh and I will add another one – Simone Wearne, named as the first ever female Head Coach of an Australian Team. Love that woman!