Today 15 aspiring Olympians from sports including Athletics, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Equestrian, Baseball, Canoeing, Gymnastics and Yachting received a grant from the Foster's Sports Foundation, a unique body established by Carlton and United Breweries.

Murray Rose, Multiple Olympic Gold Medallist and Chairman of the Foster's Sports Foundation Advisory Board presented the athletes with their grant at a special function today at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, and said the grant recognised their world-class performance.

Foster's Sports Foundation grant recipients at today's presentation are:

• Kate Anderson (Athletics)
• Claire Fearnley (Athletics)
• Addy Bucek (Yachting)
• Natalie Harvey (Athletics)
• Lauren Burns (Taekwondo)
• Paul Lyons (Taekwondo)
• Earl Byrne (Baseball)
• Carlo Massimino (Taekwondo)
• Jeni Danks (Yachting)
• Lachlan Milne (Canoeing)
• Brennon Dowrick (Gymnastics)
• Lisa O'Keefe (Taekwondo)
• Warwick Draper (Canoeing)
• Tara Trebilcock (Equestrian)
• Jian Fang Lay (Table Tennis)

Mr Rose is joined in the Foundation by Olympians Herb Elliot, Nicole Stevenson, Russell Mark and Marlene Mathews; President of the Australian Olympic Committee, John Coates; veteran sportscaster, Norman May; leading businessman, David Mortimer; and Deputy CEO of Foster's Brewing Group, Nuno D'Aquino.

To date, the Foundation has awarded grants totalling more than $1.1 million to 338 Australian athletes. A further $1.2 million has been guaranteed to be given to athletes who are not recipients of the AOC Gold Medal Incentive Scheme or have not already received a Foster's Sports Foundation grant.

Further information:

David Argus
Manager, Media Relations & Public Affairs
Carlton & United Breweries
Tel: +61 7 3212 0268
Mob: 0418 523 343