Matthew Cowdrey’s stellar 12 months has been recognised by GQ Australia after they awarded him Sportsman Of The Year at their annual shindig last night in Sydney. In addition to becoming Australia’s most successful Paralympian, Cowdrey beat out a host of fancied able bodied stars as he continues to bring further exposure to the Paralympian movement.
In a year where Ben Barba lit up the NRL, Jobe Watson dominated in the AFL, and Michael Clarke became a bankable run scoring machine, GQ’s decision to award Cowdrey the honor speaks volumes of how far Cowdrey has taken the sport.
Speaking to GQ ,Cowdery was quick to downplay his role in generating the unprecedented support this year. “We’ve got some amazing stories on our team as well so that’s a different element to the Paralympics that the Olympics doesn’t have. These aren’t just great athletes, they’re great people who have overcome a lot to be where they are in their lives.”
So with a London campaign that bagged him 5 Golds, 2 Silvers, and a Bronze medal (13 Gold, 7 Silver, 3 Bronze all up), Cowdrey was proudly dubbed by GQ as a “champion who personifies the heroic spirit of our nation at its best” and a deserved recipient of their Sportsman Of The Year.
The other big sports winner from the annual awards was Olympic 10m platform diver Matthew Mitcham. Australia’s highest profile gay athlete took out Social Force of the Year thanks to his 43,000+ pro-active Twitter fans.
For the full list of winners click here.
