Adrian Jackson has been named Orienteering Australia’s Athlete of the Year for 2008 in a unanimous vote. This follows an outstanding season, highlighted by his second world title, when he won the Middle Distance event at the World MTBO Championships in August.

Adrian also finished on the podium in the other two World Championships events, placing sixth in both the long and sprint distance events. He finished the year as the world’s top-ranked mountain-bike orienteer, with wins in four World Ranking Events on top of his successes at the World Championships. He also won all three distances at the Australian Championships in Queensland in October.

Adrian has also been steadily improving as a mountain bike racer. He won two major multi-stage MTB races in 2008, the Alice Springs Enduro in May and the Wildside in Tasmania in January, and was also highly competitive in the Crocodile Trophy in Queensland in October. He also took out a National Series round late in the year.

Adrian will be presented with his award at the MTBO WOC selection trials (and Victorian Championships) in Victoria this weekend.