Sport NSW Awards: Six finalists for Athletics

26 October 2026

Sport NSW Awards: Six finalists for Athletics

Athletics have today been named as finalists in six categories for the prestigious Sport NSW Award to be held at the NSW Champions of Sport Dinner and Ceremony next month.

Dual Commonwealth Games gold medallists, Rose Davies is named a finalist in the Athlete of the Year category, while Commonwealth and World U20 Championships gold medallist Isaac Beacroft is named in the Young Athlete of the Year category.

Three more NSW athletes were named finalists – Sally Stagles in the Masters Athlete of the Year category, Layla Sharp in the Young Athlete of the Year with a Disability category and nominated by the Cerebral Palsy Sporting and Recreation Association, Mali Lovell in the Athlete of the Year with a Disability.
A sixth finalist was NSW Athletes, named in the Organisation of the Year category.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Rose Davies was NSW’s leading athlete at the Commonwealth Games and it is no surprise she is named a finalists here. In Glasgow she won the 5000m and 10,000m double. Obviously, it will be a very competitive category to win and includes previous winner and Olympic gold medallists Jessica Fox. She had to fend off three very successful NSW Athletics women (Nicola Olyslagers, Jessica Hull and Eleanor Patterson) just to receive our nomination.
Davies’ 2026 campaign was brilliant. In addition to her Commonwealth Games accomplishments, she won a medal in the Road Running Championships and just missed the podium in the Diamond League final. But under super coach Scott Westcott, it has been her consistent progression for five years straight at the annual global meet, that have been her trademark – improvement and delivering when it counts.

YOUNG ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Isaac Beacroft has had an incredible 12 months setting two World records, and winning gold in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games two weeks later the World U20 Championships title. He will be very competitive for this award in 2026.

MASTERS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Gold medals and a world record at the World Masters Championships for sprinter/hurdler Sally Stagles secured her our nomination in this category and eventual announcement as a finalist in the Sport NSW Awards. NSW Athletics have previously won this category and Stagles has the same credentials as our previous winner.

The World Masters Athletics Championships were held in August/September 2026, in Daegu Korea. The biannual event, which is the peak world championships for masters’ athletics in Track and Field, this year attracted 10,349 competitors from 106 competing nations.

In Daegu Stagles competed in the 65-years age division, winning gold in the 300m hurdles, 80m hurdles and 4x100m relay. She set a Championship record in the 80m hurdles, and the relay team set a World record & Championship record.

YOUNG ATHLETE OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY
Layla Sharp was NSW Athletics’ most successful para-athlete at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.  She claimed a silver medal in T38 women's long jump 5.06m at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

In a dramatic competition in Glasgow, Sharp improved from a previous lifetime best of 4.86m to twice break her Australian open and under-20 records with leaps of 5.02m then 5.06m. It is important to perform up to your best in the major events and she certainly did that. She missed the gold medal by just 3 centimetres. The winner Olivia Breen (from Wales), has during her career won World Para Athletics Championships gold medals and a Paralympic Games bronze medal in the long jump. So Sharp was competitive with the very best in the world.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY
For the fourth consecutive year, Mali Lovell is a finalists in this award – an outstanding achievement. We no Paralympics or world championships this year and her event not on the Commonwealth Games program, her nomination, by the Cerebral Palsy Sporting and Recreation Association, relied on her domestic results.  The highlights were bronze at the Oceania Championships, silver in the 100m at the Australian Championships and gold at the Maurie Plant Meet.

ORGANISATION OF THE YEAR
The NSW Athletics nomination highlighted many areas of success for the organisation. It included:
How NSW supplied the largest number of competitors in the Commonwealth Games team and won the most medals by a State – 12. Similarly with the World U20 Championships – most team members and contributed to the six medals.

NSW Athletics Partnership between Athletics NSW and Little Athletics NSW, bringing the organisations together after nearly six decades. 

Through its Run My Way initiatives, NSW Athletics has committed to identifying and activating programs that promote the safety of women who run. 

The number of qualified technical officials rose by 6%, built on a Paid Officiating Program that invested more than $300,000 in its first full season. NSW Athletics now serves more than 52,000 registered members and 220 affiliated clubs and centres. 

The establishment of the Centre of Excellence has further diversified revenue, complementing the traditional membership and event delivery streams. With a focus on performance and pathway initiatives for the sport, the Centre also provides services to the high-performance programs of several non-Athletics national and state sporting organisations, reinforcing both financial stability and diversification for NSW Athletics.

The 2026 NSW Sports Awards will be presented at the upcoming NSW Champions of Sport Ceremony, which will be held on the evening of Monday 23 November 2025 at The Sydney Event Centre – The Star. This is the biggest night on the NSW sporting calendar.

David Tarbotton for NSW Athletics
Image: Rose Davies (image courtesy of Commonwealth Games Australia)