Meet Wentworth Courier’s Local Sports Star Awards finalists

Meet the Wentworth Courier Local Sports Star Awards finalists. The winners will be announced at a special dinner on November 2.

Young swimmer Ned Wieland is one of the Wentworth Courier’s Local Sports Star Awards finalists. Picture: Christopher Chan

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MEET Wentworth Courier Local Sports Star Awards finalists. The winners will be announced at a special dinner on November 2. The awards recognise not just the young stars on the sporting field but the people behind the scenes — parents, coaches and volunteers. They all have a chance to win a share of $18,000 in prizes.

Junior Sports Star Individual

Ned Wieland, 16, in July became the youngest Australian male to have swum the English Channel. The North Bondi swimmer also raised awareness and more than $30,000 for mental health charity RUOK. He trained up to 14 hours a week for months in the lead up to the crossing.

Ned Wieland. Picture: Christopher Chan

Junior Sports Star Individual

Tara Knox Wilkie, 17, has had strong results in rhythmic gymnastics. The Bondi Junction athlete got her first national senior all-round title at this year’s Australian Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne after coming back from severe knee and ankle injuries.

Tara Knox Wilkie. Picture: John Appleyard

Junior Sports Star Individual

Olivia Coleman, 17, represented the NSW Waratahs in the Australian Netball League this year. She played in the NSW U17 team at the national championships and was reselected for the Australian U17 national squad and the Netball Centre of Excellence Tall Athlete Program.

Olivia Coleman. Photo: AAP Image/Daniel Munoz

Service to Sport

Erik Haggstrom, 45, has made an impact on many young girls’ lives at Queens Park football by helping them improve their soccer skills and teamwork, as well as encouraging them to try new positions on the field. The football coach also helped his daughters’ team win the Premiers and Championships titles. Erik isn’t just passionate about soccer, he lives and breathes it.

Erik Haggstrom and his daughters Maya and Poppy. Photo: AAP IMAGE/ Danny Aarons

Young Sporting Spirit

Holly Palmer, 12, won two bronze medals at this year’s Combined Independent Schools Swimming Carnival. She was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, but she is not letting that get in the way of her dream to compete at the Paralympics one day.

Holly Palmer. Picture: John Appleyard

Young Sporting Spirit

Felix Long, 15, has a tally of 12 national medals for athletics. The Bondi Junction sprinter won the under-16 100m race and the 4x100m and 4x200m relays, also placing third in the 200m race, at the Australian Athletics Championships at Sydney Olympic Park in April.

Felix Long. Picture: John Appleyard

Young Sporting Spirit

Patrick Francis, 16, won the Amateur Boxing Association’s NSW boxing under-70kg title this year and also the Amateur Boxing League metro title. The young boxer trains four times a week at the gym and runs most mornings before school. He also does strength and conditioning twice a week.

Patrick Francis. Photo: Brianne Makin