Award means cyclist Kaarle McCulloch is the best of our best

OLYMPIAN Kaarle McCulloch emerged from the long shadows cast by our other sporting champions to finally win the Leader Tynan Honda Sportstar of the Year award, at a glittering awards dinner on Friday.

McCulloch acknowledged her award via video link at a packed Doltone House, Sylvania Waters, where the now retired Australian Test cricketer Glenn McGrath was inducted into the Hall of Fame. (see story below)

It was more than time for the champion sprint cyclist from Gymea Bay, a graduate of Endeavour Sports High.

The long-time women’s team sprint partner of Olympic champion Anna Meares, McCulloch happily piled up world championship titles - and world records - alongside Meares.

But such is the depth of sporting talent in the St George and Sutherland Shire, McCulloch seemed l perennial runner-up to world champions like Craig Alexander, Chris McCormack and Billy Dib in recent years.

Not so on Friday night ... it was Kaarle’s turn and she was a deserved winner of the 2012 award.

A good season last year, when she won a gold and three silver medals at the national track titles, was topped off when she and Meares again paired to win Australia’s first cycling track medal of the 2012 London Olympics in August — after being pipped for the gold-medal ride-off in the women’s team sprint.

The pair finished behind Germany and China, after beating Ukraine in the third place race-off.

Without Meares, McCulloch followed up with Stephanie Morton in the women’s team sprint final at the cycling World Cup in Mexico.

McCulloch had to beat three other women Olympians to take the award. Cronulla Water Polo Club’s Alicia McCormack, Nicola Zagame and Holly Lincoln-Smith finished runners-up on the night, after their Australian team won the bronze medal at the London Olympics, while Cronulla surfer Connor O’Leary capped a fine season by winning the senior encouragement award.

McCulloch, who is training and racing in Belgium after a short season in Japan and will return to the Australian Institute of Sport in Adelaide, was effusive with her thanks after being awarded the Sportstar of the Year award.

‘‘I know all our top sportspeople look forward to this night,’’ she said from Belgium. ‘‘I’ve been close before, and now I’ve won makes me so proud. I can’t thank the Leader, and Tynans, enough because it does mean so much, winning.’

McGrath in Hall of Fame

AUSTRALIAN cricketing great Glenn McGrath on Friday night joined a growing list of past and present stars to be inducted into the Leader’s Sporting Hall of Fame.

The retired Sutherland Cricket Club star, 43, now a Test cricket commentator, also became only the third cricketer in the Hall of Fame list, along with former St George Test players Arthur Morris and Brian Booth.

His first Sutherland club president, Tom Iceton, told an amusing story about how he didn’t give a much younger McGrath from country Narromine much of a rating when he first saw him bowl in Sydney after McGrath brought his caravan to the shire from country Narromine in the early 1990s.

Of course that quickly changed after McGath made his debut for NSW, and then Australia.

In 124 Tests bowling on all wickets before he retired in 2006, McGrath became the world’s greatest wicket-taker for a fast bowler (563 wickets at a phenomenal average of only 21.64 runs a wicket).

In that tally he took 10 wickets in a match three times, and five wickets in an innings 29 times, while bowling for this country.

McGrath, AM, is board chairman and ambassador for the McGrath Foundation, a breast cancer support and education charity he founded with his deceased first wife, Jane.

On Friday night McGrath said he was ‘‘honoured’’ to twice win the Leader Tynan Sportstar of the Year award (1999 and 2005).

‘‘Now, to join the likes of Arthur Morris and Brian Booth in the Leader Hall of Fame is just fantastic,’’ said McGrath, who was also inducted into the ICC Hall of fame in January.

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See a list of category winners below and click on the comment link below the story to congratulate them. What do you think was the best thing about the awards?

LEADER TYNAN HONDA 2012 SPORTSTAR

Category - Junior Team Award

Sponsor - St George & Sutherland Shire Leader + Tynan Honda

WINNER – CRONULLA CRAYS U/14 BEACH SPRINTERS

Category - Senior Team Award