Kerkow Tweed’s greatest athlete?
Tweed Heads are searching for the region’s greatest local athlete, with Kelvin Kerkow OAM selected among the final ten personalities.
The Tweed Daily are running the online poll on their website, mydailynews.com.au, to crown the best athlete in the history of the area.
Kerkow is arguably one of Australia’s most recognisable and successful lawn bowlers.
Having overcome the rare life-threatening Guillain Barre syndrome, a disease that attacks the nervous system, as a child, which resulted in years of surgery and being bound to a wheelchair, Kerkow’s story of rising above adversity to the top-echelons of the sport is as heart-warming as it is remarkable.
The image of Kerkow ripping off his shirt and being chaired around the green in celebration of his 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medal victory created one of the most enduring and synonymous images of the sport.
Among an illustrious list of achievements also include three World Indoor pairs titles, three Welsh International Masters crowns, a Pacific Championships gold medal and two Australian Indoor Championships trophies.
As well as being an ambassador for the sport in Australia and internationally, Kelvin is also a member of the Jackaroos national selection panel.
Other notable athletes in the mix for the greatest Tweed sports star award include world champion surfing identities Joel Parkinson, Mick Fanning and Stephanie Glimore, Kookaburras ace Matthew Butturini, paddle boarder Beau Nixon, AFL players Sam Glibert and David Hale, Gold Coast Titans front rower Ryan James and Olympic swimmer Lara Davenport.
Once narrowed down, the top five athletes chosen by the readers in the poll, in addition to the editor’s selections, will feature in a two page spread in the Tweed Daily on Saturday, March 16.
Bowls also boasts another renowned athlete in contention to secure an iconic title that transcends the sport in her hometown, with 22 year-old world champion Kelsey Cottrell in the running for the Sunshine Coast athlete of the decade title.
Click here to vote for Kelvin Kerkow OAM as Tweed’s greatest local athlete.
Click here to cast a vote for Kelsey Cottrell in the Sunshine Coast athlete of the decade poll.
