Full list of 2021 SASI Awards winners
SASI Female Athlete of the Year – Madi Wilson (Olympic swimming gold medallist)
Madi made a splash in Tokyo, competing in her second Olympic Games. An impressive performance from Madi in the heats for the 4x100m Freestyle, saw the team go on to compete in the final where they brought home gold in this event. The 27-year-old then went on to swim in the Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay where the girls set a new Commonwealth Record and secured a bronze medal. The top three teams in this race all swam under world record time. In the highly competitive 200m Freestyle field, Madi put in a gutsy effort in the heats and impressively earned herself a spot in the final.
SASI Male Athlete of the Year – Alex Hill (Olympic rowing gold medallist)
Alex made history at the Tokyo Olympics, winning a gold medal in the Men’s Four Rowing event. With his teammates Alexander Purnell, Spencer Turrin and Jack Hargreaves in tow, they pulled off an unbelievable performance to become the first Aussie winners of this event in 25 years. Along with bringing home the gold, Loxton’s hometown hero can now proudly call himself a member of the new Oarsome Foursome. After coming away with a silver medal at the Rio Games in 2016, Alexander has shown hard work and determination really do pay off.
SASI Para Athlete of the Year – Paige Greco (Paralympic cycling gold medallist)
Paige claimed Australia’s first medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, winning gold in the C1-3 3000m Individual Pursuit. The 24-year-old also smashed her own World Record in this event, crossing the line in 3:50.815 minutes. Her medal wins at the Games didn’t stop there, with Paige claiming a bronze medal on the road in the C1-3 Time Trial and it was a photo finish when she took out the third position in the C1-3 Cycling Road Race.
SASI Junior Female Athlete of the Year – Nikita Hains (Olympic diving athlete)
Nikita made her Olympic debut this year, competing in the 10-metre platform diving event. She qualified for the Games after winning silver with a breakthrough performance at the Australian Open Championships held in June. Nikita put in a valiant performance in Tokyo where she only just missed out on progressing to the semi-final after finishing in 21st position with a score of 270. After her Olympic efforts, she was announced as one of 10 2022 Tier 2 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holders.
SASI Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Angus Dawson (Olympic rowing athlete)
As a junior rower competing at a senior level, Angus has been seriously impressive on the water. He joined the 2021 Australian Rowing Team after a strong showing at the U23 World Championships in 2019, when he and his teammates were declared world champions. Since then, a focus on national team representation and contributing to podium success at international events has been paramount. He made his Olympics debut this year when he featured as the sole South Australian on the Australian Men's Eight crew where they earnt a spot in the final after making the most of their opportunity in the repechage event.
Amy Gillett-Safe Award – Kiana Elliott (Olympic weightlifter)
Kiana found weightlifting after wrapping up her gymnastics career and displayed her dedication to the sport when she moved from New South Wales to South Australia to pursue more suitable training opportunities, which resulted in her gaining selection for the Tokyo Olympics. She is committed to dual career activities and secured a full-time role with Forensics SA after working as a temp there. In the community engagement space, she is regularly representing SASI in programs such as Olympics Unleashed, the Premiers' be active Challenge, Bone Density SA school talks and through her state weightlifting competitions. She also gained praise from the Australian Olympic Committee when presenting to sponsors post-Tokyo 2020.
SASI Coach of the Year – Peter Bishop (Olympic swimming coach)
Peter is the coach of SASI Olympians Madi Wilson and Kyle Chalmers who excelled at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Peter has acted as Head Coach of the SASI swimming program for several years and consistently provides an elite daily training environment for his athletes.
SASI Service to Sport Award – Jamie Stanley (Senior Sport Physiologist)
Jamie is a SASI staff member who has made a significant impact and positive contribution to SASI athletes and programs. This is evidenced by his passionate and focused support of athletes and coaches, delivering high-performance outcomes including five gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games from the athletes he worked extensively with during the cycle.
Program Athletes of the Year:
- Canoe Sprint – Daniel Kucharski
- Cycling – Zac Marriage
- Diving – Nikita Hains
- Hockey – Hattie Shand
- Netball – Tahlia Dnistrjanski
- Rowing – Angus Dawson
- Swimming – Kyle Chalmers
- Individual Athlete Program – Sam von Einem (Para table tennis)
