Australian sevens captain Sharni Williams gets Australia Day honour after Olympic gold
Sharni Williams' golden dream has taken her around the world, but the Australian sevens captain hopes her journey from the garage to the Olympic Games opens the doors for girls to follow her path.
Williams gave a speech at an Australia Day ceremony in Western Sydney on Wednesday after being awarded an Order of Australia medal for her role in the women's sevens historic Olympic gold in Rio.
Sharni Williams, left, with her Australian teammates.Credit:Jamie Squire
The former Canberra mechanic is no stranger to Australia Day honours, having been recognised in Batlow when she was growing up.
But her latest accolade has a much bigger impact in showing female athletes "can kick arse" in the male-dominated sporting world.
"For me, it's about the past, present and the future on Australia Day," Williams said of her Order of Australia Medal.
"I still remember as a girl getting awards as a sports achiever on Australia Day in Batlow ... and now I'm here. It's been a bit of a crazy journey. It was a bit of a reality hit for me. It's been a huge ride and this Olympic gold medal, things keep coming out of it.
"But the gold medal is bigger than me or the team because at the end of the day people now know what women's rugby is about. There's a legacy and it showed that women are playing a male-dominated sport and kicking arse at it.
"We didn't know what impact it would have on the nation or young girls, but we knew it would have an impact on rugby."
The entire women's sevens team was recognised for winning the first gold medal in women's rugby sevens at Rio last year.
The result is helping smash barriers for female athletes and the women's sevens series will be included at a two-day tournament in Sydney for the first time.
Williams will be a part of the world-champion squad to play pool matches against Brazil, Ireland and Fiji at the Sydney Sevens next weekend.
Williams will also help launch a girls' sevens program in Canberra in February, and says convincing mothers that their daughters can play rugby is one of the goals that drives her.
"I had no one to look up to when I was younger, but now you see female athletes getting a chance to represent their country and to be recognised for it," Williams said.
"It's pretty cool to say I can be a role model for a new generation of young athletes. We want to give back to our communities to give back and thank them."
Williams was one of several female athletes to be honoured, including Canberra rower Kim Brennan and para-triathlete Katie Kelly.
Former Canberra resident Kelly is a vision impaired athlete and was one of Australia's 22 gold medal winners at the Paralympics.
Kelly has been training and will compete in the world triathlon event in Rotterdam, but she has also launched a Sport Access Foundation to offer grants to Australian children with a disability.
"As a proud Aussie, I'm honoured to receive the Order of Australia Medal and my hope is to encourage more children with a disability to take part in sport," she said.
"A barrier to this is often access to the right facilities, equipment and supervision. This is where Sport Access Foundation can assist – by providing grant funding to local sporting groups and families."
Chris Dutton is the sports editor at The Canberra Times.