Athletics-Lissa Labiche, William Woodcock voted best athletes |19 December 2012
Labiche won the best female athlete of the year title for the second time in a row and the highlights of her 2012 season are the medals she won at the two major international meets.
Invited by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to compete at the XXX Olympic Games in London, England from July 27 to August 12 and qualified for the final, Labiche won the women’s high jump silver medal at the 14th International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Junior Athletics Championships. She cleared a height of 1.88m – a new junior and senior Seychelles record – on the sixth and final day of the championships inside the Montjuic Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain on Sunday July 15 to write a new chapter in the history of Seychelles’ track & field athletics.
She was crowned women’s high jump champion of the 18th African Senior Athletics Championships, held in Porto-Novo, Benin after clearing the bar at 1.86m – a then junior and senior Seychelles record – at the Charles de Gaulle stadium on June 30.
She also bettered her junior long jump best with a leap of 6.28m to win a silver medal at the Southern region junior championship in Namibia. She also won the high jump silver medal at the same championship with a bar of 1.70m. She cleared the same height at the South Africa open championship to take second position.
At the local athletics garden – Stad Linite – Labiche won the high jump gold medal and at the same time broke the Seychelles record at 1.85m in the National Championship.
In the long jump, she finished with efforts of 5.69m in the National Junior Championship and 
Marie-Helen Rose, 17, has finished as second best to Labiche and also took home the best young female athlete of the year title.
During the 2012 season, Rose, who also plays for Arsu alongside her mother Jerina Bonne, won the gold medal at the Jeux de la Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l’Océan Indien (CJSOI) in the Comoros with a best throw of 13.36m.
At the Southern region junior championship in Namibia, she won three silver medals in the shot put (11.75m), javelin (30.81m) and discus (31.45m).
She claimed two bronze medals in discus (32.31m) and shot put (12.65m) in the South region youth championship.
Locally, Rose won the discus (32.43m), shot put (11.52m) and javelin 30.90m) in the National Championship, and claimed victory in discus (31.36m) in the National Youth Championship. She was second in the hammer throw with a distance of 23.97m.
Co-holder of the Seychelles record of 2.20m with Eugene Ernesta, Praslinois high jumper Woodcock has now brought to five his number of male athlete of the year titles after past wins in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Runner-up to Sportsman of the Year 2010 Terrence Dixie, Woodcock was fourth with a best jump of 2.10m at the 18th African Senior Athletics Championships, held in Porto-Novo, Benin.
While in Germany, he twice cleared the bar at 2.12m and once at 2.15m.
Runner-up to Woodcock is sprinter Jean-Yves Esparon who twice broke the junior category 100m and 200m records. Esparon’s times in the 100m dash improved to 10.84 seconds and 10.80 seconds, while clocking 21.89 seconds and 21.75 seconds in the 200m.
He also competed at the Olympic Games on invitation, registering 22.09 seconds in his heat.
Dean William has been chosen as the best young male athlete of the year and his best performance for the season has been his shot put gold medal he won at the Jeux de la CJSOI in the Comoros with a distance of 16.07m.
William, who competed in the Southern regional youth championship in Zimbabwe finishing 10th in the shot put with a throw of 11.62m, beat the hammer youth record with an impressive effort of 60.40m during the Special Events two competition.
In the National Championship, he won the hammer (47.85m), shot put (13.27m) and discus (36.03m) events.
Labiche’s Cuban trainer Carlos Sanchez has been chosen as the best coach, while Monica Samson is the best official.
Meanwhile, to coincide with the centennial anniversary of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the Seychelles Athletics Federation (SAF) rewarded some of the country’s track & field sons and daughters.
The IAAF centennial gold medals were presented to SAF founder John Prosper, and Maurice Camille, the first ever Seychellois gold medallist at the Indian Ocean island Games – in 1979 in Reunion.
Longest serving official who helped bring local athletics to a higher standard Giovanna Rousseau, longest serving Seychellois coach Joseph Volcy, Danny Beauchamp who reached African standard in the long jump before passing away in November 12, 2010 at the age of 41, Paul Nioze who reached African standard in the triple jump and Lindy Leveaux who reached African standard in the javelin throw were presented with IAAF certificates.
Female and male athletes of the months in the youth, junior and senior categories and record breakers of the year also received cash prizes.
Coach Anna Barra’s athletes of the Top Racers club won the youth and junior/senior cups for the IAAF Centennial competitions organised by the SAF.
G. G.