Sunshine Coast Sport’s 30 Greatest – 11 to 20
THE list includes athletes who started their sporting journey on the Sunshine Coast or lived in the region whilst competing.
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THE second batch of the Sunshine Coast's 30 greatest athletes has been revealed.
Numbers 11-20 includes some well-known sportsmen and sportswomen, including lawn bowls star Kelsey Cottrell.
She took the game by storm as a teenager and went on to win a host of medals on the international stage.
Another bowler, Keith Poole, also claimed a place in this list.
Numbers 1-10 will appear on Saturday.
The Sunshine Coast has a proud sporting history, having produced a host of inspirational athletes on the national and global stage.
To celebrate their achievements, the Sunshine Coast Daily has compiled a list ranking the region's greatest 30 sportsmen and sportswomen.
It includes those who started their sporting journey on the Sunshine Coast or lived on the Sunshine Coast whilst competing.
The Daily has also assembled a list of the region's top 10 imports, including athletes who moved to the region after their careers. It will feature in Monday's edition.
It was a tough task deliberating on the make-up of the final lists.
Sunshine Coast Daily sports editor Steele Taylor had assistance from ex-Sunshine Coast Sports Federation chairman Benny Pike, Sunshine Coast Sports Hall of Fame chairman Brendan Burkett and Sunshine Coast Daily columnist Ashley Robinson.
A number of sports associations from around the region were also contacted for their input.
The lists should spark debate, as we roll them out during the next few days.
We don't expect everyone to agree with them but if they get people talking, it means they're passionate about sport on the Sunshine Coast, which is what really counts.
20. BRENDAN BURKETT
SWIMMING: Paralympic gold, 3 silvers, 1 bronze, Commonwealth Games silver.
A Queensland Sports Hall of Fame legend, Burkett has made a significant impact on the Paralympics stage. After losing his leg in a motorcyle accident, aged 23, Burkett embarked on a highly successful swimming career. He claimed gold at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta (50m freestyle) and silvers at Seoul in 1998 (4x50m free relay A1-A8), Barcelona in 1992 (50m free S9), Atlanta in 1996 in 2000 (4x100m free S7-10) and at Sydney (4x100m free 34pts). He was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the latter. Burkett also snared silver in the 1994 Commonwealth Games at Victoria (100m free S9). Burkett grew up in Gladstone before moving to the Sunshine Coast in 1991. He's a professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast and is a renowned coach, sports scientist and high performance manager. He's now Australia's Paralympic swim coach.
19. KERRI THOMAS
SURF LIFESAVING: World ironwoman champion, 2 Australian ironwoman titles.
A powerhouse on the Sunshine Coast surf lifesaving scene in the late 1990s, Thomas also made her mark on the national and international scene. The Maroochydore club star burst on to the global stage in 1994, when she won the world surf ski title. Then in 1998, she left an even more indelible impression on the sport when she captured the world and Australian ironwoman crowns, along with another surf ski title. The following year, she defended her national ironwoman title and she also became the first female to be named captain of the regional team, as she continued to break new ground for the sport on the Sunshine Coast. The Currimundi Primary product, who was with Dicky Beach SLSC as a nipper, was also a threat in the national summer surf league. She is regarded as somewhat of a pioneer for women's surf lifesaving in the region.
18. KEITH POOLE
LAWN BOWLS: Commonwealth Games gold and silver, world championships silver.
A legend of the sport on the Sunshine Coast, the late Keith Poole had a successful career spanning decades. He represented his country 169 times, while living in the region. He claimed a bevy of state and national titles in singles, pairs, triples and fours. He skipped the Australian fours team to gold at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, where they lost just one of their 13 games. Poole also claimed silver medals in fours at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch and at the 1976 world championships in Johannesburg. Poole was also a three-time Australian champion and four-time state champion. He was awarded an OBE for his contribution to the sport, received an Australian Sports medal and was inducted into the Bowls Australia Hall of Fame. A Sunshine Coast Sports Hall of Famer, Poole was also an astute and well-known businessman.
17. KRISTY MUNROE
SURF LIFESAVING: 2 world ironwoman titles, 2 national ironwoman titles, 1 ironwoman series title, multiple world and national board and ski titles.
Munroe took to the sand and the surf at Alexandra Headland from an early age and she quickly developed into one of the sport's biggest stars. She first competed in the elite summer Kellogg's series at just 15 years old and captured state, national and world championship ironwoman titles before her 21st birthday. After winning the world ironwoman title in Italy in 2004, she defended her crown by beating a hot field in Victoria in 2006. Munroe also made her mark on the board and ski, claiming several titles at Australian and world level. She captained the national team to victory at the world championships at Germany in 2008. Munroe was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, International Lifesaving Federation Hall of Fame and Sunshine Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
16. ALANA BOYD
TRACK & FIELD: 2 Commonwealth Games gold.
Pole vaulter Alana Boyd followed in the footsteps of her parents to become an Olympian and claim Commonwealth Games gold. A four-time national champion, she was victorious at the Commonwealth Games at Delhi in 2010 and at Glasgow in 2014. Alana also featured at three Olympics, competing at Beijing in 2008, London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. She finished a close fourth in the latter, which was her final event. Her personal best jump of 4.81m was recorded at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She was born and raised in the region, going to school at Immanuel Lutheran College. Her parents Ray and Denise, who moved to the region in 1983, were also stars of track and field, in pole vault and sprinting respectively. Alana's brother Matt also went to the 2014 Commonwealth Games for pole vault while her sister Jacinta was a talented long jumper.
15. GARY ELKERTON
SURFING: 2 Triple Crown titles, 3 time world tour runner-up.
From the Sunshine Coast to Pipeline, 'Kong' made his presence felt on the surfing scene. He spent plenty of time at local breaks as a teenager, with the family home by Mooloolaba beach, to quickly establish himself as one of the state's best boardriders. The world tour beckoned for the Maroochydore High product and he spent 12 years on the circuit, claiming three runner-up results (1987, 1990, 1993) in the overall standings. One of the best surfers to have never won the world title, Elkerton defeated some of the biggest names in the sport and became the first non-Hawaiian to win the Triple Crown of Surfing. He claimed honours in the the three-event series twice, in 1986 and 1989, winning the prestigious Pipe Masters during the latter. Elkerton's competitive spirit endured as he won three world masters titles. He took part in the world masters championships this year, aged 54.
14. EMMA SHEERS
WATER SKIING: 4 world titles, twice world waterski athlete of the year.
A Queensland Sport Hall of Famer, Sheers was twice adjudged the best water skier on the planet. She helped drive the sport forward in Australia during a lengthy career, which included multiple victories at various levels. She starred from an early age, claiming the world junior jump crown twice. She went on to win the world junior jump title twice and the world slalom title twice. But she received arguably the ultimate accolade in 2003 and in 2005, when the sport's international governing body named her their athlete of the year. Sheers, who moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2011, has been a finalist in the Queensland and Australian sports star of the year awards. A five-time world record holder, who has also won several masters events, she is now a successful coach at the ski park at Coolum. Sheers has mentored several national and world champions.
13. KELSEY COTTRELL
LAWN BOWLS: 2 world championships gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze, Commonwealth Games gold, silver, bronze.
Cottrell helped to lift the profile of lawn bowls among the younger generation in Australia, while claiming a swag of medals on the international stage. She took up the game at Tewantin-Noosa as a 12-year-old, following her mother to the greens, and quickly found a liking to it. She earned Australian selection as a 17-year-old in 2007 and the following year she claimed bronze in singles at the world championships in Christchurch, where she also snared silver in triples. Cottrell bagged pairs gold at the world championships in Adelaide in 2012 and fours gold in Christchurch in 2016. She also claimed fours gold at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast this year, when they edged South Africa 14-12 in the decisive match. She also boasts triples silver and singles bronze from earlier editions at Glasgow (2014) and Delhi (2010).
12. RAY LAIRD
RUGBY LEAGUE: Test appearance, 18 Qld appearances.
Fullback Laird was one of the stars of Queensland rugby league during the 1960s and early '70s. Somewhat of a journeyman around the state, he came to the Sunshine Coast later in his representative career and linked with Nambour Souths. He sparked a golden era for local rugby league, when the A-grade competition became as strong as ever. He attracted some of the state's best players to the Sunshine Coast and he captained/coached the region's representative team to their first Wide Bay championship at the 47th Battalion carnival in 1974. Laird captained Queensland and played 18 games for his state. Relatively short in stature, he was a livewire on the field. He played one game for Australia in 1970, when he was a replacement for Graeme Langlands against Great Britain in front of more than 60,000 fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
11. BRITTANY ELMSLIE
SWIMMING: 2 Olympic gold, 3 silver, 2 Commonwealth Games gold, 1 bronze, 3 world championship silver.
After growing up in Noosa, Elmslie fashioned a stellar swimming career, with a swag of medals claimed on the sport's biggest stages. Born in Nambour and raised in Noosa, she attended Good Shepherd Lutheran College and trained at Noosa and Cotton Tree pools, She moved to Brisbane as a 17-year-old to join the swim program at Nudgee. She made an impact at the 2012 Olympics in London, where she claimed gold (4x100m free) and two silver (4x100m medley, 4x200m free). She also snared gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow two years later (4x100m free, 4x200m free), when she also bagged bronze in the 50m butterfly. She also boasts relay silver medals from the world championships at Barcelona in 2013 and Budapest in 2017 and she won the world short course 100m free crown at Windsor in 2016.
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