WHO’S NO.1?

SALLY Pearson is among the favourites to take out the Gold Coast Sports Star of the Year award tonight in what could become the most celebrated period of her stellar career.

Pearson is among 10 outstanding candidates for the award, to be presented at a gala dinner at Southport.

The world champion will break from her preparations for the Commonwealth Games trials to attend the event as hundreds of athletes start competing at the national track and field titles at Carrara.

The championships will be capped by the presentation of the inaugural Betty Cuthbert Medal (inset) — an award handed to the athlete judged to have produced the most outstanding single performance in the open events at each year’s national titles.

As defending world champion in the 100m hurdles, Pearson is among the leading candidates for the award as she looks to seal her Games place with a strong run. The national titles provide the only opportunity for Pearson and her fellow athletes to compete at Carrara Stadium ahead of the Games.

And while she will want to be on song in the hurdles final on Saturday night, Pearson does not want to peak for another two months. Regardless of any award she may pick up over the next few days, Pearson’s focus remains on April 13, when she wants to be standing on top of the dais as the face of a home Commonwealth Games.

SALLY PEARSON Athletics

What can you say about Sally that hasn’t already been broadcast across the globe? Her’s is not just an amazing story of track success, but also of an individual’s courage and determination to overcome every hurdle placed in front of her. Coming into 2017 Pearson already had Olympic gold and silver and world championship gold and silver. However she was also coming off three years ruined by injury. But, typically, Sally hurdled that to again win world championship gold in London.

KEN WALLACE, JORDAN WOOD, Kayaking

The Gold Coasters were part of the four-man K4 1000 team that won gold at the World Championships in the Czech Republic in late August. The pair had also been part of the K4 team at the Rio Olympics in 2016, which came fourth. Wallace won bronze in the K2 at Rio. Wallace is already a two-time winner of the Gold Coast Sports Star of the Year.

ASHLEIGH GENTLE Triathlon

The Rio Olympian continued her climb towards the top of the international rankings in 2017, finishing the year at No.2. A decade after she won the world junior crown, Gentle celebrated her first win in a world series event, in Montreal in August. But there was also world championship gold. Along with fellow Gold Coaster Matt Hauser, she was part of the Australian foursome that took out the World Teams Relay World Championship.

ALYCE BURNETT Kayaking

2016 Rio Olympic K2 kayaker Burnett stepped into the individual spotlight in sensational fashion in 2017 when she took out the women’s K1 1000 at the World Championships in the Czech Republic in late August. She also won two golds at the 2017 Australian Canoeing Sprint Nationals – the K2 500 and K1 500. Burnett was also named the 2017 Queensland Academy of Sport Peter Lacey Award for Sporting Excellence recipient.

MATHEW BELCHER Sailing

2017 was yet another year of triumph for arguably Australia’s greatest and certainly most successful Olympic class skipper. Belcher cruised to an amazing seventh world title in the 470 class, setting a new benchmark. He achieved this with crewmate Will Ryan, notching their fourth world title as a pairing. Belcher has won Olympic gold in London in 2012 and silver in Rio in 2016. He is a frequent finalist in these awards and last year was named winner of the City of Gold Coast Mayor’s Sports Award.

Ali Day Surf lifesaving

Champion surf lifesaver Ali Day proved he is the best of the best in 2017 in one of the country’s toughest events. Day won his record-equalling fifth Coolangatta Gold and now stands with Caine Eckstein on that platform. He also took out the most prestigious race – the Oceanperson – at the 2017 International Surf Rescue Challenge in New Zealand. He has also won the Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman Series.

SHAKIRA WESTDORP Stand up paddleboard

The Gold Coaster’s profile as the world’s leading female stand-up paddleboard surfer was further enhanced in 2017 when she made it back-toback wins in the world championships, this time in Denmark, in September. In her five attempts at the ‘worlds’ she has tallied two wins, two seconds and a third. The former professional lifeguard, now full-time firewoman, also approached legendary status in the sport in Australia with her sixth Australian title – claimed right here on the Gold Coast.

HARRIET BROWN Surf lifesaving

The tenacious Northcliffe clubbie‘s very good career became a great career in 2017. The reigning world surf lifesaving ironwoman champ took out the Kellogg’s NutriGrain Ironwoman Series, won the state title, was named Queensland Surf Lifesaving Athlete of the Year and then not only won the World Paddleboard Championship in Hawaii, but did it in record time.

LOGAN MARTIN BMX Freestyle

There were a couple of significant firsts when Logan Martin claimed gold in the 2017 BMX Freestyle World Championship in China in November. Not only was the northern Gold Coaster “first”, but he had won the inaugural World Championship in this event. Martin was a warm favourite, having won the world series in this discipline in 2015 and 2016. Look out Tokyo Olympics 2020.

JAMIE WHINCUP Motor racing

Considered one of the most dominant Australian athletes of the past decade, such has been his profile in one of our most popular sports, V8 Supercar racing. And in 2017 he reached uncharted peaks. He had already won the most Australian Supercar titles at six but extended that to seven in dramatic fashion with a lastround win. He has the most Supercars Championship race wins at 108. In 2017 he also won the Bathurst 12-Hour.