Australian Institute of Sport athletes Becchara Palmer and Louise Bawden have been internationally recognised by Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) with prestigious awards for their outstanding performances in elite competition during 2009.

FIVB has named Louise Bawden Rookie of the Year, in an equal tie with the United States’s Angie Akers. Bawden’s team-mate Becchara Palmer was voted the 2009 Tour’s second most improved player and was short listed as one of the world’s top setters.

Earlier in the year, Palmer was also named most outstanding player at the Mazury Open, part of the SWATCH FIVB World Tour. Palmer and Bawden won the silver medal at the Open, which involved contests against other higher-ranked opponents from Germany, Brazil and Austria.

Palmer and Bawden are major successes of the Australian Sports Commission’s National Talent Identification and Development program. A key aim of this program is identifying, developing and fast tracking Australian athletes for competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games and beyond.