Ross and Bellis named Australian Female and Male Rowers of the Year

Kathryn Ross and Gavin Bellis have been named Female and Male Rowers of the Year by Rowing Australia, while Gordon Marcks was Coach of the Year ©Twitter

Australia’s Para-Rowing world champions Kathryn Ross and Gavin Bellis have been named as the 2014 Female and Male Rowers of the Year respectively by Rowing Australia.

The pair's trainer, Gordon Marcks, has been named as the 2014 Coach of the Year.

Ross was named the 2014 Female Rower of the Year after following up her 2013 World Rowing Championship gold medal in the trunk and arms mixed double scull (TAMix2x) with another dominate season in the boat with Bellis.

Ross and Bellis won gold at the Sydney International Rowing Regatta in 2014, while also claiming top place in the Gavirate International Para-Rowing Regatta and then capping of a fantastic season by retaining their TAMix2x title at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam.

“I feel really honoured, I’ve been in the game a long time and it’s the first time I’ve received this award," said Ross.

"It’s been a great couple of years and we’ve really capped it off, and this just helps to push us more and more, we’re in it for the long haul and I can’t wait to see what this year brings at the World Rowing Championships.”

Ross’s double scull partner, Bellis was named the 2014 Male Rower of the Year.

It followed back-to-back gold medals for the former Australian’s Army sergeant at the World Rowing Championships in 2013 and 2014.

“It’s an amazing feeling," he said.

"It has been an incredible few years from the disappointment of London 2012, but this has capped off a great season.”

Kathryn Ross and Gavin Bellis have been named as the female and male rowers of the year following back-to-back World Championship titles in 2013 and 2014 ©Getty Images

Marcks, meanwhile, became senior coach of Para-rowing at Rowing Australia after London 2012 and focussed specifically on coaching the trunk and arms mixed double scull, scoring back-to-back World Championship medals in 2013 and 2014.

Running a strong programme at Rowing Australia has seen other members of Marcks’ programme secure medals, including Erik Horrie who claimed back-to-back gold medals at the 2013 and 2014 World Rowing Championships in the ASM1x, which in turn has made Marcks the lead coach of the most successful Para-rowing programme in the world in 2014.

“I’m enormously proud of Kat and Gav this evening, it’s a nice recognition of all the hard work that they have done over the last season," said Marcks.

“I think this win for me is a combination of things, having fantastic athletes, having good support staff, where everyone is on the same team and being consistent with our messaging and being accommodating and supportive of all para-rowing, be it at an elite level or at the level where we are trying to develop the sport.”