FREE AND EASY GETS HONOURS
DUNCAN Free’s hobby took him to an Olympic rowing gold medal in 2008 and last night it delivered the Gold Coaster into the Queensland Sports Hall of Fame.
Free joined fellow Beijing gold medallist Jessicah Schipper (swimming), triathlete Miles Stewart and world water ski champ Emma Sheers as inductees at The Courier-Mail/Channel 7 Queensland Sport Star of the Year Award at Brisbane Convention Centre.
The top gong, as Sports Star of the Year, was claimed by WBO welterweight boxing champion Jeff Horn.
Free, who with Olympic partner Drew Ginn was also a dual world champion in the coxless pair, said the call from the organising committee came “out of the blue’’.
“It certainly came by surprise. To be acknowledged with legends of various sports is humbling,’’ Free said. “I started rowing when I was 12 for the fun of it. It was casual and social to the point it was a hobby and throughout my whole rowing career I always saw it as a hobby.
“You always strived to be the best you could, trained hard and pushed yourself.”