The awards presented recognise South Australians who have excelled in their sporting endeavours over the past 12 months, acknowledging their outstanding contributions, perseverance and achievements.

The winners included:

• SASI Para Athlete of the Year – Jed Altschwager and Nikki Ayers (Para-rowing)
• SASI Female Athlete of the Year – Steph Talbot (Basketball)
• SASI Male Athlete of the Year – Oliver Bleddyn (Cycling)
• SASI Junior Female Athlete of the Year – Lucy Sharman (Hockey)
• SASI Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Tayte Ryan (Cycling)
• SASI Coach of the Year – Christine MacLaren (Rowing)

Many memorable moments and medal wins from the Paris Olympic/Paralympic Games, and World Championship events were celebrated at the event.

Highlighting the team’s dedication to excellence on and off the field, other accomplishments within the SASI community were also commended.

The Amy Gillett-Safe Award was presented to Olympian Matthew Glaetzer – this is awarded annually as a memorial to one of SASI’s and Australia’s finest athletes and recognises an individual’s commitment to sport through passion and persistence.

Other award winners included SASI sport program athletes of the year, and the SASI Heart Award which went to Sports Engineer David Haydon for demonstrating exceptional passion and commitment to the programs, teams and athletes with whom he works.

In addition to these outstanding results and tonight’s important recognition of people, it’s been a momentous year for SASI with the $88 million SASI build at Mile End and the $15 million Australian Centre for Sports Aerodynamics.

Click here for the full list of winners.

Quotes attributable to SASI Director Keren Faulkner

It’s been a transformative year for SASI where we are now operating out of new purpose-built facilities and working with more advanced technology to assist in driving the best possible results for our athletes.

But what truly sets SASI apart is the dedication, skills and talent of our people and it’s fantastic to recognise the achievements of our high-performance staff, coaches and athletes at the SASI Awards.

South Australians should feel an incredible sense of pride in all the award nominees and winners, and how they have represented our State this year.

Quotes attributable to SASI Junior Male Athlete of the Year Tayte Ryan

I’d like to congratulate all the nominees for being nominated on this award and I’d like to say what a huge honour it is to win this award - it really means so much to be recognised for what my 2024 season was.

I’d also like to thank a few people that have helped my 2024 season be as successful as it was, so I’d like to thank Jimmy (Glasspool) my coach for putting in countless hours and effort into me as an athlete and helping me break that World Record.

I’d also like to thank Steve (Van Diepen) in the gym for getting me strong enough that I can ride faster on the track.