News Round-Up

Canada: At Swimming Canada's annual Big Splash Awards Gala in Toronto last night, Ryan Cochrane (Island Swimming/Victoria Academy of Swimming) took home the Male Swimmer of the Year award, Richard Weinberger the Open Water Swimmer of the Year prize and Martha McCabe (Vancouver Dolphins/National Swim Centre, Vancouver) the Female Swimmer of the Year. 

Cochrane claimed silver behind Sun Yang (CHN) in the 1500m freestyle at the London 2012 Olympic Games, four years after bronze in 2008. He received his award from Mark Tewksbury, 1992 100m backstroke Olympic champion and chief cheer leader for Canada at the Games this year.

Olympic bronze medallist Weinberger (Pacific Coast Swimming) made the London 2012 podium in a year in which he also took honours in world waters. He received his award from presenter Annaleise Carr, the youngest person to swim across Lake Ontario.

McCabe, heading to Istanbul next month as one of 13 Canadian set to compete at the World S/C Championships, finished fifth in the Olympic 200m breaststroke final.

A total of 13 awards were handed out in Toronto. 

Australia: Eamon Sullivan, the Aussie Olympic medal-winning sprinter, has been charged with assault and disorderly behaviour after an alleged incident on October 18 at a party for an AFL footballer: Sullivan is alleged to have borrowed a scooter belonging to a John Guppy and, after having had a drink, drove it along a pavement and crashed into a table at a nearby pub, injuring two people. A spokesman for the swimmer’s management group Elite Sports told Aussie media that Sullivan was in Gawler for a friend’s wedding, adding: "Whilst it is apparent that an accident occurred there is no evidence that Eamon was the party responsible for any such accident. We are able to confirm that there are no police charges which have resulted from this accident." In fact there were and Sullivan will appear before Elizabeth Magistrates.

USA: Female swimmer of the year Missy Franklin has been nominated for Sports Illustrated’s Fans’ Choice award as inspiring performer of the year.

Denmark: Jeanette Ottesen, 2011 joint world l/c champion, has dropped the four-lap freestyle race from her Istanbul world s/c titles programme next month.