Barratt (27) received the award at a ceremony at UWA last Wednesday, adding to her list of honours garnered in 2015, including the UWA Sports Star of the Year and City of Rockingham Sports Star of the Year awards.
She also represented Australia at the Summer Universiade (World University Games) in Korea in July, where she won gold in the 50m backstroke and bronze in the 50m butterfly and freestyle.
Her sights are now set on qualifying for a place in the Australian Olympic swimming team for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio, and has stepped up her training regime to achieve her goal.
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READ NOW“My swimming has really improved over the last few years but I wasn’t expecting to achieve a sporting award of this calibre,” she said of winning her latest award.
“I feel honoured and excited that my achievements have been recognised.
“It really caps off a strong year for me. Going to Korea to compete in the World University Games was the best week I have had in my career and an amazing experience.
“It was really nice to come back to Perth and be recognised for my achievements.
“Next year is the selection for the Olympics. I am training to be the best swimmer I can be and if I was selected that would be a dream come true,” she said.
The flood of honours does not end there for Barratt, who has also been nominated for the prestigious International University Sports Federation (FISU) Daegu Scholarship, which recognises excellence in university sport.
A winner (one male and one female) will be selected from different regions this month.