Meet the Sportswomen of 2023

THE RJRGLEANER Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards is fast approaching and though the exploits of those who would have epitomised what the awards stand for throughout 2023 are likely well known, we thought it worth it to remind you so you can make up your mind about who the absolute best was in 2023.

DANIELLE WILLIAMS

At the Bermuda Grand Prix in May, Williams ran 12.38 seconds for the silver medal, just 1/100th of a second outside of the Jamaican record. At the National Championships Williams finished third, but followed up with a gold-medal performance at the World Athletics Championships, her second hold on the event’s top spot. Williams also won the Diamond League in Zurich and ended the year as the fourth-ranked female sprint hurdler.

RUSHELL CLAYTON

Rushell Clayton won the Diamond League meet in China on September 2 and ended the year 2023 with bronze medal Diamond League finishes in Brussels and at the Diamond League Finals in Eugene. Clayton’s biggest achievement of the year was another bronze medal, this one at the World Athletics Championships inside the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, ending the year ranked number three in the world.

SHERICKA JACKSON

In 2023 Shericka Jackson defended her national titles in the 100 and 200 metres at the National Championships, in the process setting a new personal best in the former, which now stands at a very fast 10.65 seconds. Jackson was unbeaten in the 200m all year long and took the sprint double at the Diamond League final. At the World Athletics Championships Jackson took silver in the 100m and gold in the 200, running 21.41 seconds, the second-fastest time ever and just seven-hundredths of a second off a seemingly unbreakable World Record. Jackson ended the year ranked number two in the 100m and topped the podium in the 200m. She was also the Diamond League Final winner in both sprints.

JHANIELE FOWLER

Jhaniele Fowler claimed her fifth consecutive Stacey Marinkovich Medal for best and fairest player in the Suncorp Super Netball League. At the Netball World Cup, where she captained the Sunshine Girls, Fowler was the leading scorer with 302 points and had the highest percentage shooting with an average of 97.4%. The Sunshine Girls finished third at the Netball World Cup.

SHELLY-ANN FRASER-PRYCE

In an injury-plagued season, Fraser-Pryce’s first 100 metre of the season came on July 20 in Switzerland where she clocked 10.83 seconds. This was followed up by another win in Spain in a similar time. At the World Athletics Championships, Fraser-Pryce clocked 10.77 seconds to claim the bronze medal, her sixth Individual World Championships 100 medal.