Congratulations to triathlete Jake Birtwhistle who has been named the 2018 Tasmanian Athlete of the Year.
Jake had an outstanding year winning a gold and silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, a silver medal at the Mixed Relay World Championships and placed third overall in the ITU World Triathlon Series.
Jake was one of a record number of Tasmanian athletes representing Australia at the Commonwealth Games. Our contingent delivered 14 medals, the best ever performance recorded by Tasmanian athletes at a Commonwealth Games.
The Tasmanian Athlete of the Year and the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame inductees were announced tonight at Blundstone Arena in a combined event to celebrate our State’s sporting excellence.
It was also announced tonight that former Richmond Football Club player, Michael Roach, and record-breaking athlete, Donna MacFarlane, would join 131 other Tasmanians as members of the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame.
Both athletes represented their state with distinction over a number of years.
Michael is an AFL icon, Richmond premiership player 1980, Coleman medallist (twice) and All-Australian.
Donna, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in 2006, made a career comeback after retiring from athletics to raise a family.
The Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame honours outstanding Tasmanian sportspeople who have represented our state at the highest level and ensures their achievements receive the recognition they deserve.