She joins Olympic swimming gold medallist Shayne Reese as the only five-time winners of Ballarat's most prestigious female sporting honour.

Reese was sportswoman of the year in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Mitchell's 2018 award, presented at St Patrick's College Pavilion on Thursday night, comes after her previous wins in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Mitchell, 36, was the javelin gold medallist in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games under the guidance of coach Uwe Hohn.

She clinched the title with an opening throw of 68.92m — breaking her own national record as well setting Commonwealth Games and Oceania records.

The Gold Coast provided Mitchell with her first major international medal after three previous Commonwealth Games and two Olympics, which all produced top 10 finishes,

Originally from Casterton, Mitchell first moved to Ballarat as secondary student - attending Ballarat High School and joining Eureka Athletic Club - to pursue her athletics career.

Accepting the award in front of an audience of more than 200, Mitchell said she greatly valued the experiences she had had during her sporting career. - the people she had met and the places she had been. She also emphasised the need  to continue to support sport in Ballarat to ensure others had similar opportunities.

Kolbe Pool (eight-ball) and Katrina Werry (rowing) were other finalists for the award.

Tazmin Forrest (archery), Mikayla Hogg (equestrian), Glad Gullock (bowls) and Kellie Tait (special needs) were other award winners.

Stories, page 39