Danielle Anne Woodward (born 20 March 1965 in Melbourne) is an Australian slalom canoeist who competed from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, she won a silver medal in the K1 event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Danielle Woodward
Medal record
Women's canoe slalom
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona K1

Woodward was born in Burwood in Melbourne's eastern suburbs and grew up in Newtown in New South Wales.

At the time of the 1992 Summer Olympics, she was a Detective Constable with the Australian Federal Police, and by 2024, she had been promoted to Commander.

In March 2016, Woodward was awarded the Commissioner's Medal for Innovation, recognising her dedication to combating human trafficking, particularly in creating and delivering awareness packages for front-line police across Australia.[citation needed]

Woodward was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on Australia Day 2002[1] and the Australian Sports Medal on 22 June 2000.[2]

In the 2020 Australia Day Honours List, Woodward was awarded the Australian Police Medal (APM).[3]

Woodward was appointed director of Australian Canoeing on 29 April 2007. On 15 November 2008, she was elected president of the governing body.[4]

In 2013, Woodward was appointed to the Australian Olympic Committee Executive. From 2014 onwards, she also worked administratively with the Australian Winter Olympic team, the Oceania Canoe Association and the International Canoe Federation.[citation needed]

In 2016, she was awarded the AIS Ward of Excellence - Administrator Australian Institute of Sport Performance Awards.[5] and served as the Deputy Chef de Mission in Rio with the Australian Olympic Team.

During her AFP career, she served with the United Nations Police as the District Commander (7th Contingent UNTAET, East Timor), and a FILO Forward Commander (Downing of Flight MH17, The Hague). In 2019, Woodward was a Visiting Fellow at the Royal New Zealand Police College.[citation needed]

In November 2023, Woodward was charged with a drink driving offence and stood down from her AFP duties.[6] After 38 years of exemplary service in the AFP, she retired in March 2024. In April 2024, Woodward received a non-conviction order and was banned from driving for six months after the magistrate concluded that the incident was the result of ill-health.[7]

World Cup individual podiums

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Season Date Venue Position Event
1994 17 Jul 1994 La Seu d'Urgell 1st K1
1995 25 Jun 1995 Prague 3rd K1

References

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  1. ^ "Australia Day 2002 Honours List" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Australian Sports Medal".
  3. ^ "Australia Day 2020 Honours List" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Australian Canoeing Board of Directors". Australian Canoeing. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Chalmers claims two AIS awards to complete fairy tale year". Australian Sports Commission website. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  6. ^ AFP Commander and Olympian Danielle Woodward charged with drink driving after crashing car into tree ABC News Report 24 March 2024, accessed 24 March 2024.
  7. ^ Neale, Hannah (15 April 2024). "Ill health led to drink-driving police commander's 'stupidity'". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  • Sports-reference.com profile
  • Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Women's Kayak Slalom Singles". In The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 495–6.