Tokyo Olympian Bernadette Wallace has announced her retirement from elite paddling.

The annual South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) Awards were held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Friday night, honouring the best in South Australian sport and SASI’s 40^th anniversary.

The 2020 Olympics was one for the history books, with athletes overcoming many challenges on the road to Tokyo including a postponed Games date, training in lockdown, quarantine periods and not being able to compete against their international rivals in the 12+ months prior.

There is just one week to go until Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic Canoe and Kayak sprint athletes will converge on Adelaide for the 2021 Paddle Australia Canoe Sprint Championships.

A lifeline has been thrown to athletes, including a trio from the SA Sports Institute, with news of their selection on to the Australian team which will compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 as part of the canoe sprint team.