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After months of deliberation, nominating and voting, the winners of The 2022 Women In Sports Awards have been announced.

Chosen from over 35 nominees, each of the ten winners has shown the world that limits can be dismantled and boundaries stretched, if we have the mental willpower to believe in ourselves, while also serving as role models to younger generations and being a symbol of empowerment and strength. They proved their talent over the last 12 months, and provided moments that saw us on the edge of our seats in nail-biting anticipation. And that’s why we’ve chosen to recognise their feats at the Women’s Health Women In Sport (WinS) Awards. 

Marking the 10th annual event, the WinS Awards recognises and supports female athletes at all levels, from grassroots through to elite competition. It’s all part of our year-round WinS initiative, where we not only shine a spotlight on such talents, but also help athletes to achieve their goals and inspire future generations.

Below, find winners of the 2022 Women In Sports Awards.

A post shared by JD (@jacquid6)

 As a child, Jacqui Dover (whose parents managed basketball courts on the Gold Coast) picked up a whistle to earn pocket money. A shoulder injury put a stop to her playing and at 22 she started refereeing in Townsville. Within four years, Dover progressed into the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL), rising to the highest level of competition. In May 2021, Dover became the first female Indigenous referee to take charge of a National Basketball League (NBL) game, making her NBL debut in the Indigenous round that saw the Cairns Taipans take on the Brisbane Bullets. She’s also the Indigenous Programs Manager for Basketball NSW and works with not-for-profit organisation Indigenous Basketball Australia (IBA), created by Patty Mills, to help young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people achieve success in life and sport. 

Dover mentors young people in their development as referees, and collaborated with IBA to design a unique Indigenous artwork for their referee shirts, with themes of unity, resilience, teamwork and mental wellness. A proud Yugambeh woman, she’s the founder of JD8 Official, a program that works with basketball officials around Australia to mentor and guide them to reach their goals. The Queenslander is now aiming to become the first Indigenous Australian woman to referee full-time in America’s prestigious professional sports league, the National Basketball Association (NBA). In October 2021, she was offered one of just six coveted positions in the NBA’s Referee Development Program in New York and hopes to join the NBA within the next five years.  

A post shared by Mary Boio Fowler (@maryfowlerrr)

Mary Fowler grew up playing football against her four siblings in Cairns and, at the age of 19, is already tipped to become a global superstar of the game. Having made her debut for the Matildas at 15, she was the youngest player on the field at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. Fowler made her Olympic debut in Tokyo, where she was instrumental in Australia’s quarter-final win against Great Britain. In December 2021, Fowler was named IFFHS Best Women’s Youth Player in the Asian Football Confederation, and included on ESPN FC’s list of the best 21 female players under 21. 

The buzz around her playing future continued in 2022, when she was voted by her peers as the Professional Footballers’ Association Young Women’s Footballer of the Year. Having previously played internationally for French club Montpellier, in mid-2022 Fowler signed a four-year contract with Women’s Super League club Manchester City, with team manager Gareth Taylor describing her as one of the most exciting new talents in the game. With 24 caps for her country – including seven goals – Fowler is set to be a crucial part of the Matildas line-up when the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is played in Australia and New Zealand next year. 

A post shared by Ash Barty (@ashbarty)

Late in the evening of January 29, the country erupted in collective celebration when Ash Barty became the first Australian woman to win the Australian Open in 44 years – breaking one of the longest droughts in our national sporting history. Barty showed the steely determination she’s famous for when she bravely fought back from 5-1 down in the second set to defeat Danielle Collins at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Roaring with relief the moment the final ball was played, the victory saw the reigning world number one become the first Aussie woman to take the singles title since Chris O’Neil in 1978. Watched in the stands by sporting icons including fellow Indigenous athlete Cathy Freeman, Barty was surprised by mentor and friend Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who presented her with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup in a victory that made headlines around the world. The match also delivered record television ratings, attracting a peak audience of 4.26 million – making it the most watched women’s final since OzTam started keeping records in 1999. 

A post shared by Kaylee McKeown OAM (@kaylee_mckeown)

When Kaylee McKeown set a new world record (57.45 seconds) in the women’s 100-metre backstroke at the Australian Swimming Trials in June 2021, it was the start of a huge year that would see her win four Olympic medals. At her debut Games, and only 11 months after her father’s death from brain cancer at the age of 53, the 21-year-old Sunshine Coast local made history in the pool, snaring gold and setting a new Olympic Record of 57.47 seconds in the 100-metre backstroke final. McKeown (who has a tattoo on her foot saying “I’ll always be with you”) dedicated the win to her dad, saying: “I hope you’re proud, and I keep doing you proud.” Just four days later she won gold again, in the 200-metre backstroke, with a time of 2:04.68. 

The performance saw McKeown become the first Aussie female to win gold in the Olympic 200 metre backstroke and, making the swim even more remarkable, the women’s 100/200 backstroke double win has only been achieved on five occasions in Olympic history. She won a third gold in Tokyo (in the women’s 4 x 100 metre medley relay), along with bronze in the mixed 4 x 100 metre medley relay. But Tokyo was just the beginning of her breakout year. McKeown’s incredible run of form continued at the FINA World Swimming Championships in June 2022, where she won a gold medal on the final day of competition – in the 200-metre backstroke – to sit alongside three silvers from the meet. 

In August – at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games – her position as one of our most impressive young talents continued. Having already topped the podium and set a new Games record in the women’s 200 metre backstroke (with a time of 2:05.60) less than an hour later, McKeown won silver in the women’s 200 metre individual medley despite battling a shoulder injury. She ended the Birmingham Games with six medals: four gold, one silver and one bronze.

A post shared by Aussie Women’s Cricket Team (@auswomencricket)

The Australian Women’s Cricket Team have proved to be an unstoppable force on the international sporting stage. They are currently ranked world number one in all three formats (Test, ODI and T20) assigned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the women’s game and have set multiple records over the past two years. In April 2021, they claimed the outright record for longest winning streak in cricket history, with their 22nd consecutive win in a One Day International. The six-wicket win over New Zealand saw the trailblazing team hurtle past Ricky Ponting’s Australian men’s side, who had previously won 21 straight matches back in 2003. 

But their run of stunning form didn’t stop there. Having already claimed both the T20 and ODI World Cups – as well as a home Ashes series victory against England – they made history again at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. By defeating India in a thrilling, nine-run win in front of a bumper crowd at Edgbaston, they became the first ever female gold medallists as the T20 format made its debut in Birmingham. As all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner said: “We never thought we’d be part of a Commonwealth Games. We’ve won a lot of medals, but I think this one is pretty special.” 

A post shared by Chloe Dalton (@chloeedalton)

As an athlete, Chloe Dalton won gold with the Women’s Rugby Sevens team at the Rio Olympics. Now, she’s advocating for women in sport with a new digital platform, The Female Athlete Project (TFAP). Since it launched, TFAP has grown into a community of almost 39,000 people, and strongly campaigned for causes that champion equality. Dalton has also become a leading voice for female athletes in the media. In August 2021, she created a Go Fund Me page with the aim of raising $100,000 to be split evenly between Australia’s medal winners from the Tokyo Paralympics, after the fact they weren’t financially rewarded – unlike Olympians, who receive $20,000 for winning gold – was widely reported. 

The page raised $68,000 in just three days and, within a week, the federal government announced they would boost funding for Paralympic athletes, to ensure they received the same cash medal bonuses as their Olympic counterparts. More recently, TFAP has donated 10 percent of all proceeds from their icons merchandise range to Beat It By Stotty, a charity created by Olympian and five-time W-League Champion Rebekah Stott to support people going through cancer treatment. In December, Stott played her first professional game, for Melbourne City, since being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2020. 

A post shared by World Para Athletics (@paraathletics)

A legend of wheelchair racing, at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, Madison de Rozario took her legacy to the next level. Having first represented Australia in Beijing at the age of 14, at her fourth Games, the three-time world champion won her first Paralympic gold medal in the 800 metre T53 final, setting a new Games record of 1:45.99 in the process. But the gold rush didn’t stop there. On September 5, 2021, de Rozario became the first Australian woman to win gold in the T54 marathon, crossing the line one second ahead of Swiss athlete Manuela Schaer in a nail-biting finish. In addition to securing top spot on the podium, the victory was also a Paralympic marathon record of 1:38.11. 

In Tokyo, de Rozario rounded out her medal collection with bronze in the 1,500 metre T54 final. In November 2021, de Rozario made history again, becoming the first Australian woman (in either the wheelchair or open events) to win the New York Marathon. She crossed the line almost three minutes ahead of her nearest competitor – Tatyana McFadden, a five-time winner of the event – in a time of 1:51.01. The Perth-born athlete’s breakout year continued at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, when she took gold on a gruelling course in the women’s T53/54 marathon – and with her race chair held together by zip ties after it was damaged in transit on the way to the event. Just five days later, de Rozario became the first Australian para-athlete to win four Commonwealth Games gold medals, when she successfully defended her crown in the 1,500-metre final. A force for equality and inclusion, she continues to break new ground as one of this country’s most important and successful sporting figures.  

A post shared by Lauren Elizabeth Jackson (@laurenelizabethjackson)

y the time Lauren Jackson retired due to injury in 2016 she was considered the greatest basketballer Australia had ever produced. She’s a four-time Olympic medallist, a three-time WNBA MVP and the only Australian player inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

But, as it turned out, she wasn’t done. Earlier this year, Lauren, 41, signed with the semi-pro NBL1 Albury Wodonga Bandits, and in August she was named in the Opals squad for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup – a full 12 years after her last appearance in the competition. 

Now, the star has claimed the career fairytale ending she deserves. On Friday, the Opals defeated Canada in Sydney to win the bronze medal at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

A post shared by Ellie Cole (@elliecoleswim)

Growing up, Ellie Cole looked up to swimmers Susie O’Neill, Petria Thomas and Jodie Henry, and now, the 30-year-old has become a legend herself. Ellie, who specialises in freestyle and backstroke, has won 17 Paralympic medals (including six gold), 10 world championship medals, four Commonwealth Games medals, and is featured in the 2020 Netflix documentary Rising Phoenix, a tribute to Paralympic great achievers.

A post shared by Nicole Livingstone (@nicliv1)

Nicole Livingstone is an Australian Olympic Great. Nicole is CEO of AFL Women’s Football and continues to inspire the next generation of female athletes.

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