World champion paddleboarder and elite surf lifesaving competitor Jordan Mercer has been named USC’s Sportsperson of the Year for 2017.
The talented endurance athlete and Education student received her trophy from USC’s Director of High Performance Sport Professor Brendan Burkett at last week’s USC Sports Awards ceremony.
Mercer, 23, of Marcus Beach, became the most decorated International Surfing Association competitor in history this year after earning her ninth and tenth individual world championship gold medals at the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard championships.
As well as individual wins in the Technical Paddleboard event in Hawaii and the 20km marathon paddleboard event in Denmark, Mercer was also part of the victorious Australian relay team in September.
Mercer said after recovering from injury earlier this year, she jumped at the chance to take part in USC’s High Performance Student Athlete program.
“I’m so thankful for the opportunity to be studying here and achieving my goals in sport,” she said. “It’s actually been a huge motivation to be surrounded by so many great athletes who have achieved so many incredible things across such a wide range of sports.
“I’m really humbled – this is very special,” she said of receiving the award.
