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County's Olympians rewarded with more honours
BRITAIN'S success at the Beijing Olympic Games and Yorkshire's impressive contribution to the team's achievements were reflected at last night's BBC Yorkshire Sport Awards at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford.
Hosted by Sport England and the BBC, the glittering black-tie dinner and awards ceremony recognised the success of Olympians Paul Goodison, Andrew Hodge, Ed Clancy, Joanne Jackson, Ben Swain and Nick Robinson and Paralympians Danielle Brown, David Stone and Helene Raynsford.
David Gent, regional director of Sport England, said before the awards were presented: "Team GB was exceptionally successful and as a result the standard of entries for the Yorkshire Sports Awards has been higher than we've seen in the 25 years since they started.
"Athletes who live, train or were born in Yorkshire won 21 per cent of the Olympic medals, which is outstanding when you consider that only 10 per cent of Team GB in Beijing were Yorkshire athletes.
"The wonderful thing about this year's awards is that we have Olympic and Paralympic athletes winning awards alongside junior athletes and teams who are at the top of their sport in their age group."
The BBC Sport Personality of the Year award went to sailing gold medalist Paul Goodison, who grew up in Rotherham.
Winner of the gold medal in the Laser dinghy category in China, 30-year-old Goodison is also the British and European champion.
Unsung Hero of 2008 was Jason Cross who took the award in recognition of his work in re-establishing Doncaster Toll Bar Amateur Rugby League club after their pitches, changing rooms and clubhouse were devastated in the flood of summer 2007.
As well as his coaching responsibilities with Toll Bar and the South Yorkshire Rugby League Service Area, Cross also played a key role in fund-raising for the club which now enjoys some of the best community sports facilities in the region.
Super League and World Club champions Leeds Rhinos were rewarded for their success as Team of the Year with their guiding influence Brian McClennan being named Coach of the Year and the late David Topliss, an outstanding player with Wakefield Trinity, Hull and Great Britain, was installed into the Yorkshire Sport Hall of Fame.
There was a special award for Barnsley for the outstanding performance of 2008, marking their achievement in reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Winner of the Top Male award was Andy Hodge, who was born at Hebden, near Grassington, and was a member of Britain's gold medal-winning team in the coxless four rowing team in China.
The runner-up was Barnsley cyclist Ed Clancy who won gold in Britain's world record-breaking pursuit team in Beijing and also figured in the team which won the world championship pursuit title in Manchester.
Top female achiever was Danielle Brown, who grew up in Lothersdale, near Skipton, and swept her way to the archery gold medal with a new record points total in archery at the Paralympics.
Runner-up was swimmer Joanne Jackson, from Richmond, who earned a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle.
The award for the outstanding disabled athlete went to Leeds-based cyclist David Stone, who was a double Paralympic champion, taking gold in the mixed individual road-race as well as triumphing in the individual time-trial.
Halifax-born rower Helene Raynsford was runner-up after her gold medal-winning performance which, remarkably, came only three years after she took up the sport.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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