Courtesy https://www.vis.org.au/

Three-time Olympian Anabelle Smith has been named as the winner of the Victorian Institute of Sport Sarah Tait Spirit Award.

The very special Sarah Tait Spirit Award recognises the athlete who most encompasses the spirit of the VIS. This athlete has demonstrated courage, commitment and persistence to achieve their sporting goals, whilst showing the ability to inspire and bring out the best in others, engage with and bring pride to their community. The award was renamed in 2016 in honour of the late Olympic rower.

There were three very worthy finalists in 2021, Elizabeth Watson (Netball), Rachael Lynch (Hockey) and Anabelle Smith (Diving). Smith was narrowly judged the winner.

Like the Award’s namesake, Smith is an inspiration in life as well as diving. The triple Olympian is one of the most giving athletes within the Australian sporting community and will always put her hand up to give back to her sport and the community in general to inspire the next generation of athletes and leaders.

Hidden beneath her bright, bubbly and unassuming demeanour, Smith is an extremely tough, gritty and resilient athlete. To be able to handle everything that has been thrown her way in the last two years, from cancelled events to several interstate relocations, has been nothing short of remarkable, and she always continues to do so with a positive mindset on life.

14 athletes were also named winners of the 2021 Coach Awards, which are presented to an athlete in each VIS sport program who is the most deserving within this calendar year. 2021 Coach Awards winners:

The performance period for the 2021 Awards was from 21 October 2019 to 1 October 2021. Performances by VIS athletes after 1 October 2021 will be considered for the 2022 Award of Excellence.