12/10/2008 10:16:00 AM Is Aitken the favourite for Athlete of the Year? Thomson, Brooks, King and Estwanik looking to crash the awards party
* Reuters photo. In the swim: Kiera Aitken’s record breaking performance in the Olympics garnered a lot of well deserved praise.
* Photo by Ras Mykkal. Simply the best: Ashley Brooks finished the 2008 season as Bermuda’s top female tennis player.
There have been some standout performances for women in sports this year. But who is your number one? Today James Whittaker profiles the ten female contenders for Bermuda Sun Sports Personality of the Year.
You can vote for your favourite online at www.bermudasun.bm or by e-mailing jwhittaker@bermudasun.bm.
You can also still vote in the mens' poll.
Dee Thomson
Always one of Bermuda's top cyclists Dee Thomson took it to a new level this year.
As well as claiming the local time trial crown she proved herself on the international stage claiming gold in the Caribbean Championships.
She also picked up a silver medal in the road race a day later to cap a hugely successful weekend in the British Virgin Islands.
Ashley Estwanik
Back on the island with her American husband Chris, Ashley Estwanik (formerly Couper) dominated the local scene.
The former professional middle-distance runner won every race she entered before stepping up to the half-marathon mark to become the first Bermudian May 24 winner in several years.
She didn't just win, she knocked four minutes off last year's winning time and was nearly three minutes ahead of her nearest rival - last year's winner Dawn Richardson.
Dawn Richardson
She may have lost her May 24 title but the British runner added a bigger title to her honours list - winning the Toronto Marathon.
The two-time May 24 champ was first female finisher in Toronto and 19th overall in a field of more than 1,700 runners. It was her first sub-three hour marathon in four years.
Karen Smith
After winning her age-group in the Brazil Ironman last year and placing well in the Hawaii World Championships, Karen Smith continued her success at the most gruelling sporting test in the business.
This time it was the Half-Ironman World Championships in Clearwater, Florida, where she picked up a silver medal in the 40-45 age group - finishing second in a field of 58 and recording a personal best time of 4:31:59.
Kiera Aitken
Aitken saved her best for the big occasion once again. Her record-breaking swim in the 50m backstroke at the Cube complex in Beijing was arguably the brightest moment of the Olympics for Bermuda.
To step up, under that kind of pressure in front of 10,000 people and knock 1.44 seconds off her personal best was a tremendous effort.
Much had been made of the fact that only one of Bermuda's Olympic athletes made the qualifying standard before the games, but Aitken's Olympic swim of 1.02.62, beat the mark by more than a second.
Jillian Terceira
One of only two Bermudians who qualified for the Games, Terceira had a great start aboard Chaka III.
She was 39th after round one and heading for the next stage.
Despite a nightmare second round with the horse refusing to jump twice resulting in her elimination, she showed she could mix it with the best in the world in Hong Kong.
Her performances prior to the Olympics were also impressive with Terceira actually qualifying two horses.
Ashley Brooks
Continued to dominate the local tennis scene winning every tournament she entered.
Played overseas for Pacific Lutheran University in California where she made the Northwest Conference Tournament's round of eight before losing to the number two seed.
Arantxa King
Long-jumper King continues to show enormous potential.
She performed well for the prestigious Stanford Track team in the highly competitive U.S. College scene. She was 10th in the U.S. College Championships in the long jump.
She may not have hit the heights of 2005 when she won gold at the World Youth Games and may have expected to do better in Beijing.
But she was still only 18 when the Games were held and will have many more Olympic campaigns in her.
Jenaya Wade Fray
The tenacious guard is an emerging star for the University of Chattanooga Tennessee. She is especially known for her three-point and defensive abilities.
Wade Fray scored 24 points against the University of North Carolina-Greensboro earlier this year.
She helped her university win the Southern Conference Tournament and get into the NCAA Tournament, where the school bowed out 69 to 59 to Kansas State.
Eleanor Gardner
Gardner became the third Bermudian female swimmer to go under a minute in the 100-freestyle clocking an amazing time of 59.62 in April.
In addition to this accomplishment she was also the first person out of the water on the swim leg of the Bank of Bermuda team triathlon at the end of September and was part of a team along with Garth Thomson and Chris Estwanik that won the Escape to Bermuda Triathlon team event.
