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Jessica Fox and Lauren Parker are the official multi Award-winning  stars of NSW sport after capturing the respective Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Year with a Disability awards at the spectacular NSW Champions of Sport Ceremony at The Star Event Centre in Pyrmont on Monday night.

It was the sixth time Paddle athlete Fox was named Sport NSW’s Athlete of the Year while dual Para Triathlete and Para Cycling competitor Parker joins Wheelchair Tennis great David Hall as a five-time winner of Athlete of the Year with a Disability.

Fox was Athlete of the Year in 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021 (shared with Cate Campbell) and 2023 while Parker was named Athlete of the Year with a Disability in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023.

Fox, regarded as the world’s greatest ever paddle athlete, earned her sixth Award honour after becoming the first canoe slalom athlete to capturing gold medals in the women’s K1 and C1 Slalom events at this year’s Paris Olympic Games. Fox also won the K1 and K1 team’s events at the 2023 World Championships and became the first paddler to win 50 World Cup medals and the first person to win three gold medals in one World Cup event.

Her astonishing year was further decorated by being chosen as the Australian Olympic Team’s female flag bearer at the Paris Olympics and was later voted as a member of the International Olympic Committee Athletes Commission for the next eight years.

Guiding the way was her mother and coach, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, who was named Coach of The Year for a second successive year after her other daughter, Noemie Fox, completed the Paris Olympics gold medal family hat-trick when successful in the women’s Kayak Cross event.

Parker became Australia's first dual-sport Paralympic gold medallist at the same Games in 48 years after claiming gold medals in the women’s H1-4 Road Race and the women’s PTWC Triathlon. She also won a silver medal in the women’s Road Trial H1-3.

Parker capped off a stellar Paralympics when named Australian team women’s flag-bearer at the Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony.

Fox and Parker’s Olympic and Paralympic team-mates, Olivia Wunsch (swimming) and Jamieson Leeson (boccia) were named Young Athlete of the Year and Young Athlete of the Year with a Disability.

Another Paris Olympic Games representative, Judo referee Lubo Petr, was named Official of The Year after presiding at his third successive Olympic Games, as well as at the World Championships and several Grand Prix events across the world.

The triple title winning Central Coast Mariners Football team denied the Penrith Panthers NRL Team three successive Team of the Year Awards, while the dominate NSW Blind Cricket Team was named Team of the Year with a Disability.

Bowls NSW was named Organisation of the Year, Riding for the Disabled (NSW) Dressage, Mounted Games and Gymkhana Gala earned the Event of the Year award, and Jason Stubbs from Blinds Sports and Recreation was voted Administrator of the Year.

John James OAM, a 1964 Olympian coxless four silver medallist for Great Britain who sadly passed away last month, won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal at the 2024 World Rowing Masters and was selected as Masters Athlete of the Year.

The Ceremony also saw five NSW sports greats, Suzy Batkovic (Basketball), Alex Blackwell (Cricket), Murray Braund (Surf Lifesaving), Pattie Dench (Sport Pistol) and Tim Gavin (Rugby Union), inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions and Sydney Swans AFL great, Paul Kelly, was elevated to Legend status.

The full list of Award winners are:

Images: Top, from left: Hall of Champions inductees Murray Braund, Alex Blackwell, Suzy Batkovic, Pattie Dench and Tim Gavin; Athlete of the Year Jessica Fox (middle) and NSW Hall of Champions and Sydney Swans AFL great, Paul Kelly.

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