A history-making dressage rider and a young kayaker who powered out from the shadow of his Olympic champion brother have edged out one of the strongest and most diverse fields to claim the Bond University Sports Person of the Year awards.
Kate Kyros won her second consecutive Female Sports Person of the Year award after a stunning season on the international circuit saw her reach No.2 in the world while Pierre van der Westhuyzen claimed his first gong after winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics.
The success of our swimming program at the Olympics saw Chris Mooney named Coach of the Year and the Team of the Year went to our all-conquering women’s rugby program.
Bond Sport’s night of nights, the prestigious Blues Awards, were celebrated at the Princeton Room on Thursday.
Equestrian and Bachelor of Laws and Business student Kate Kyros edged out a field that included Olympians Kiera Gazzard and Lani Connoly and Titans NRLW and Bull Sharks rugby star Georgia Grey.
Alongside her stallions, Intro K and Chemistry, Kyros is currently ranked World No.2 in FEI Dressage World Ranking in the under 21 age category, making her the most decorated young rider in Australian dressage history.
This year she was a double silver medallist at the 2024 World Equestrian Festival in Germany and took home the gold and silver at the Dressage Nations Cup in Florida, USA.
“My biggest highlight of 2024 was competing at the World Equestrian Festival this year, I was the first Australian to ever be invited,” Kyros said.
“My short-term goals are to head back to Europe next year and then the 2026 World Equestrian Games in Germany.”
Over the next month, Kyros will be the first Australian to compete in the Aachen Young Stars awards, the most prestigious youth competition of the European winter season.
Pierre van der Westhuyzen claimed a sensationally close silver medal in the K4 500m at the Paris Olympic Games to win the award over World Championship bronze medal winning triathlete Kye Robinson, rising gold star and Fiji Open winner James Goffman and Olympian Ben Armbruster.
At just 21, van der Westhuyzen, who studies Actuarial Science at Bond, was the youngest member of the K4 team alongside Riley Fitzsimmons, Jackson Collins, Noah Havard.
“As I look forward to LA28 I’m hoping to do one better than what we did in Paris. There’s still room for improvement,” van der Westhuyzen said.
“That 0.04 second difference between us and Germany lives rent-free in my head.
“Bond is the perfect location for training and the team have been so great supporting me with my studies and my training.”
Pierre’s older brother and Bond alumnus Jean van der Westhuyzen, a Tokyo Olympic Gold medallist, also took home a medal at the Games, placing third in the K2 500m.
Bond Sports Club of the Year was presented to the Bull Sharks Women’s Rugby after the squad won a third straight Queensland Premier Rugby grand final.
“Our track record means every squad wants to go out against us as hard as possible, so every game is a challenge,” captain Zoe Hanna said.
“Our culture is just there, it’s what makes our team tick.”
It was no surprise Chris Mooney took home the Coach of the Year after he coached four Bond swimmers – Ben Armbruster, Flynn Southam, Lani Connolly and Omar Abass – to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It’s been a massive year, with two major international meets and one more to go,” he said.
“Moving to Bond in 2021 was a no-brainer, it has fantastic facilities, and I knew the program had some promising juniors, so I knew the future was bright and secure going into 2028 and 2032.”
Mooney also took home National Age Coach of the Year and National Youth Coach of the Year at the Swimming Australia Awards.
“We have a fantastic bunch of athletes, they put a lot of trust in us,” said Mooney
“I often say to Kyle (Kyle Samuelson, Bond Director of Swimming) when expectation and pressure collide, we are going to be in the trenches with them, we really can’t do what we do without the support and belief from the athletes.”
University Blue Award Recipients 2024
Ben Armbruster – Swimming
Alyssa Bailey – Kayak
Cyra Bender – Surf Life Saving
Jesse Coleman – Swimming
Joshua Collett – Swimming
Mary Lanihei Connolly - Swimming
Brooke Davis-Goodall – Swimming
Kiera Gazzard – Artistic Swimming
James Goffman – Golf
Georgia Grey – Rugby and Rugby League
Amahli-Sieli Hala – Rugby
Zoe Hanna – Rugby
Kate Kyros – Equestrian
Matthew Kuhnemann – Cricket
Hollie-Kate Melia – Gymnastics
Camille Neighbour – Gymnastics
Mia O’Leary – Swimming
Amber Reinbott – Archery
Gabrielle Rivers – Rugby
Kye Robinson – Triathlon
Ruby Sargent- Wilson – AFL
Will Savage – Surf Life Saving
Ozzie Toole – Bobsleigh
Morgan Trinca – Surf Life Saving
Pierre van der Westhuyzen – Kayaking
Archie Vernon – Surf Life Saving
University Half Blue Awards Recipients 2024
Claudia Bailey – Kayak
Rose Bentley – Surf Life Saving
Alec Braund – Tennis
Hannah Casey – Swimming
Madeleine Condron – Swimming
Livvy Devonport – Tennis
Kelsey Francis – Judo
Nick Francis – AFL
Jazi French – Motor racing
Liam Georgilopoulos – Athletics
Fergus Gillan – Rugby
Xavier Gomes – Swimming
Thomas Hauck – Swimming
Thomas Hebblewhite – Surf Life Saving
Mathilda King – Swimming
Charles McCauley – Rugby
Ben O’Brien – AFL
Kate Regan – Kayak
Dylan Stensholm – Touch Football
Flynn Sweeney – BMX
Kaylin van Greunen – Netball
Savannah Voigt – Surf Life Saving
Matiese Wadwell – Cricket
Kimberly Webb – Equestrian