Gillian Rolton Award
Olympic time again means time to present the Gillian Rolton Award. This is awarded to the female* Australian Olympic athlete who, in her quest for an Olympic medal, does does the most to uphold the true meaning of sport, namely pain, injury and the wilful disregard of expert medical advice. You might think that an award that confers no more than bragging rights would not be highly sought after, but you might be surprised what some people will do to get the Gillian Rolton Award.
Previous winners:
Atlanta, 1996. Gillian Rolton (Equestrian): Horse riding with broken ribs, broken collar bone.
Sydney, 2000. Lauren Burns (Taekwondo): Fighting with pins in her fingers, reconstructed legs.
Salt Lake City, 2002. Alisa Camplin (Aerial Skiing): Skiing with concussion.
Torino, 2006. Alisa Camplin (Aerial Skiing): Skiing with reconstructed knee.
Beijing, 2008. Anna Meares (Cycling): Cycling after breaking her neck.
The Winter Olympics always seems to bring on the best in Gillian Rolton Award competition.
And the winner is...
Vancouver 2010
Torah Bright (Snowboarding)
On her road to the Olympics, Torah suffered two well-publicised concussions. Just before Christmas, she fractured her jaw. Then she suffered a third concussion in a heavy fall that she decided could be kept quiet. In the final round of the Olympic Snowboarding competition, the two-time X games champion botched her first trip down the pipe. Attempting a switch backside 720 - a double spinning trick no other woman has been able to perform - she came in too fast and hit the ice hard, hurting her leg badly. This left her in pain, and last place, as the second runs began, forcing her to ride her second run immediately. On this attempt, though, she performed a flawless switch backside 720. It proved enough to win the Olympic Gold Medal.
For her disregard of pain, injury and the expert advice of the medical profession in her quest for an Olympic Gold Medal, Torah is hereby awarded the Gillian Rolton Award.
* male athletes are eligible instead for Bill Roycroft Award
Previous winners:
Atlanta, 1996. Gillian Rolton (Equestrian): Horse riding with broken ribs, broken collar bone.
Sydney, 2000. Lauren Burns (Taekwondo): Fighting with pins in her fingers, reconstructed legs.
Salt Lake City, 2002. Alisa Camplin (Aerial Skiing): Skiing with concussion.
Torino, 2006. Alisa Camplin (Aerial Skiing): Skiing with reconstructed knee.
Beijing, 2008. Anna Meares (Cycling): Cycling after breaking her neck.
The Winter Olympics always seems to bring on the best in Gillian Rolton Award competition.
And the winner is...
Vancouver 2010
Torah Bright (Snowboarding)
On her road to the Olympics, Torah suffered two well-publicised concussions. Just before Christmas, she fractured her jaw. Then she suffered a third concussion in a heavy fall that she decided could be kept quiet. In the final round of the Olympic Snowboarding competition, the two-time X games champion botched her first trip down the pipe. Attempting a switch backside 720 - a double spinning trick no other woman has been able to perform - she came in too fast and hit the ice hard, hurting her leg badly. This left her in pain, and last place, as the second runs began, forcing her to ride her second run immediately. On this attempt, though, she performed a flawless switch backside 720. It proved enough to win the Olympic Gold Medal.
For her disregard of pain, injury and the expert advice of the medical profession in her quest for an Olympic Gold Medal, Torah is hereby awarded the Gillian Rolton Award.
* male athletes are eligible instead for Bill Roycroft Award