Sports Awards of the Year 2005-Leveau-Agricole and Julie the best |28 January 2006

The crowning ceremony took place Friday January 27 at the SMB Exhibition Hall, Roche Caïman.

This is the second time Leveau-Agricole wins the title after her first triumph in 1996. As for Julie, he is now the sole holder of the record of achievements in the annual showpiece after previous wins in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004.

Seychelles Nation presents you with short profiles of the top five chosen from the finalists in both the female and male categories.

Laser sailor Allan Julie – Sportsman of the Year

International competitions: 2nd out of 57 competitors in the Barcelona Olympic Week
3rd out of 88 competitors in the 2005 Laser Europa Cup in Italy
3rd out of 105 competitors in the 2005 Laser Europa Cup in Marseille, France
11th out of 126 competitors in the Semaine Olympique Française in France
30th out of 112 competitors in the Spa Eurolymp Regatta
19th out of 46 competitors in the Kieler Woche Regatta
16th out of 121 competitors in the Warmemunder Woche Regatta
42nd out of 129 competitors in the 2005 Laser European Championship
30th out of 126 competitors in the 2005 Laser World Championship
4th out of 19 competitors in the Fourth Al-Kharafi International Regatta.

This is the fifth time Julie has won the Sportsman of the Year title after previous wins in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004.
The 28-year-old, who trained in Europe for most of the year, is now in a league of his own for he is the only local athlete to have won the most prestigious title in sports here a record five times.
He finished in third position in 2003.

Weightlifter Charles Siméon – runner-up

Local competitions: Lifted a total of 250kg in the Open Championship.
Lifted a total of 260kg in the National Championship.

International competitions: Snatched 108kg and then clean-and-jerked 146kg for an Olympic total of 254kg to win three silver medals in the African Senior and Junior Weightlifting Championship in Uganda.

He returned to competition last year after serving a two-year ban and made an instant impact.

The 23-year-old dominated the 77-kg category and appears in the top-five for the first time.

Cyclist Hudson Mathieu – third place finisher

Local competitions: Won a record eighth National Championship in nine years and was almost unbeaten in local races before leaving for France to pursue his training with the Cac 41 team.

International competitions: Finished as runner-up to Belgian Gilles Devilliers in the annual Tour des Seychelles with one stage win.

Finished in fifth place overall and winner of the green jersey in the Tour de Maurice
Finished 33rd out of 62 participants after breaking the handlebars of his bicycle in one of the races in the Tour de la Réunion.

Finished eighth in the 15.8-km individual time-trial of the African Championship in Egypt.

Abandoned the 116.8-km road race after the chain of his bicycle broke on the eighth of the 16-lap race at the African Championship in Egypt,
First overall in the Grand Prix de Vierzon in France.

After failing to finish among the top-five in 2004, cyclist Mathieu has made his comeback among the best.
He has never won the Sportsman of the Year title but is a four-time runner-up to Benjamin Lo-Pinto in 1999, Allan Julie in 2000 and 2001 and Steven Baccus in 2003.

A four-time young male athlete of the year in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, Mathieu finished third overall in 2002 and fifth in 1998.

Canoeist Tony Lespoir – fourth place finisher

Local competitions: Won all local races – 100m, 200m, 400m, 500m, 800m, 1,000m and 1,500m – in 2005.

International competitions: Participated in the 34th ICF Flatwater Racing World Championships Seniors 2005 in Zabreb, Croatia.
He registered personal best times which also went down as Seychelles records over two distances - K1 200m (43.713 seconds) and K1 500m (1 minute, 56.724 seconds).

Like in 2004, paddler Lespoir, 29, has finished in fourth position.
A 10-time canoeist of the year, Lespoir also participated in the African Canoeing Championships in St Louis, Senegal.

Swimmer Steven Mangroo – fifth place finisher

Local competitions: Competed in the Sprint Open Championship, Sacos National Championship, Sacos School Championship and National Open.

International competitions: Won a bronze medal in the short course 17e Championnat de Natation de l’Océan indien in Reunion and broke two national records.

Captured six silver medals (five in individual events and one in the relay) and two bronze medals in individual and relay during the CJSOI competition in Seychelles.

Participated in the World Championship in Montreal, Canada and broke two Seychelles records.

Young male athlete of the year 2003 and runner-up in 2002 and 2004, Mangroo features in the top-five for the first time.
He has also reclaimed the young male  athlete of the year title.

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Athlete Lindy Leveau-Agricole – Sportslady of the Year

Local competitions: Broke the Seychelles javelin record with a distance of 57.86 metres and improved the discus best to 45.84 metres during the National Championship.

International competitions: Javelin gold medallist with a distance of 53.92 metres at the Jeux de la Francophonie
Ranked 125th out of 201 competitors worldwide.

Leveau-Agricole is the third athlete to win the Sportslady of the Year a second time. Her first triumph was in 1996.
The best javelin thrower Seychelles has ever produced, Leveau-Agricole has been chosen as the best female athlete six times – in 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2005.

She was runner-up to Sportslady of the Year 1998 Yvonne Legaie and finished fifth in 2002.
She became the first Seychellois to win a gold medal in the sports section of the Jeux de la Francophonie in 2005 with a performance of 53.92 metres.

Weightlifter Janet Thélermont – runner-up

Local competitions: Totalled 225kg in the Open Championship.
Totalled 223kg in the National Championship.

International competitions: Won three gold medals (clean and jerk, snatch and Olympic total of 220kg) in the 69-kg division of the African Senior and Junior Weightlifting Championship in Uganda.

Ranked 15th worldwide and second at Commonwealth level.

This is the second time Thélermont has failed to become the first lady to win back-to-back Sportslady of the Year title.

She has won the title twice in 2002 and 2004.

A seven-time female weightlifter of the year, Thélermont was fifth overall in 2000, fourth in 2001 and runner-up to Shrone Austin in 2003.

Weightlifter Julie Matatiken – third place finisher

Local competitions: Totalled 125kg in the Open Championship.
Totalled 135kg in the National Championship.

International competitions: Won three gold medals in the 48-kg category of the African Senior and Junior Weightlifting Championship in Uganda with an Olympic total of 120kg.

Ranked seventh at Commonwealth level in the 48-kg category.

After finishing as runner-up to Thélermont in 2004, Matatiken has finished third in the 2005 edition of the Sports Awards of the Year crowning ceremony.
She also featured among the 10 finalists in 2003 but failed to pin down a place in the top five.

Athlete Céline Laporte – fourth place finisher

International competitions: Jeux de la Francophonie long jump silver medallist with a distance of 6.24 metres.

French Athletics Championship under-23 heptathlon gold medallist.

Two-time bronze medallist in the long jump and heptathlon during the French National Athletics Championship.

Third place finisher in both the 2003 and 2004 editions of the annual awards ceremony, France-based Laporte has lost a place this time.

The 21-year-old had a fine 2005 season with a number of Seychelles records in the long jump (6.32 metres), 60m hurdles (8.62 seconds), heptathlon (5,684 points) and pentathlon (3,767 points).

Worldwide, she is ranked 146th out of 213 in the heptathlon and 189th out of 214 in the long jump.

Swimmer Shrone Austin – fifth place finisher

International competitions: Won three medals - two gold and one silver – in the short course 17e Championnat de Natation de l’Océan indien in Reunion to win the best regional female swimmer title.

Captured 11 gold and fiver silver medals in the Sasol Winter Championship in South Africa to finish as the second best female swimmer.

Won 15 gold and two bronze medals at the Free State Championship in South Africa to win the best female swimmer title.

Captured 15 medals – 13 gold, one silver and one bronze – during the CJSOI competition in Seychelles to receive the best female swimmer accolade.

Participated in the World Championship in Montreal, Canada and also broke a number of Seychelles records in 2005.

 
Voted Sportslady of the Year in 2003, young swimmer Austin was fourth overall in 2002 and did not finish among the top-five in 2004.
She has regained her best young female athlete of the year title.

Compiled by G. G.