Athletes and officials take top honours at recent athletic awards night
Officials, athletes and events were put on display as Athletics North Queensland crowned its best at last week’s awards night. Find out who got top honours
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Athletics North Queensland crowned its club winners for 2022 with athletes, officials and even events being honoured last week.
Acting as the governing body for this region, the awards are a testament to the hard work put into the sport across a variety of different roles and platforms.
Having a range of nationally ranked senior and junior athletes, Mackay is in one of its strongest eras of athletics, and as such has crowned the following as the best of the best.
Athletes of the year:
Justin Rule: Masters Distance
Justin Rule has had a 2022 to remember, recently showing just why he was named athlete of the year at the Pan Pacific Games on the Gold Coast.
Tenacious and hardworking, Rule has been a star in masters running in this community, and continues to show his skills across a variety of events.
Returning recently from the Pan Pacific Masters on the Gold Coast, Rule dominated the medals, including a gold and silver in the 1500m and the steeple.
Mikayla Webb: Sprints
The fast-moving 15-year-old was superb in 2022, with the 100m and 200m specialist finding herself on podiums from state to international level.
Taking her talents to the nationals in March, Mikayla was a finalist in the under 16 100m where she placed 7th with a blistering 12.31.
Mikayla also took gold at the Oceania championships earlier in the year in both 100m and 200m.
Officials of the year:
Kym Galea:
Kym Galea has been one of the most dedicated officials in Mackay athletics across the 2022 campaign, being involved in almost any event possible in this time.
Often the role as an official is a thankless task, however, with Kym’s ambition to keep events running smoothly and athletes happy she has landed a well-deserved honour.
She was recognised as the administrator of the year for the tireless hours in assisting with the running and planning of the events on the athletic calendar.
James Galea:
An athlete himself, James Galea’s contribution to the club was immense during the 2022 campaign, engaging with and keeping athletes on track.
Galea’s enthusiasm for the club and his fellow athletes is obvious, and it was a great recognition of effort to receive the official of the year title alongside his mum.
Event of the year: Mackay Track and Field Carnival
On the final weekend in March athletes from throughout the region flocked to the athletic track with ambitions to chase PBs and titles at the Mackay Track and Field Carnival.
Playing host to hundreds of junior and senior athletes, the event was recognised as the best in the calendar year, showing off all the hard work involved with running one of its calibre.
Club of the year: Mackay Athletics Club
The most dominant of the year was the homegrown talent of the Mackay Athletic Club which proved too strong in season 2022.
With a host of talented athletes the club soared domestically and interstate, proving itself to be the leading force among the pack.
With the planning for the 2023 athletic season in its beginning stages it’s not too late to get involved and potentially find yourself on this list next year.
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