Our love affair with sports stars continues. Google data reveals that six athletes, two politicians, a pardoned inmate, and the Aussie partner of an American rapper are the hottest search trends in 2023. Check out the Top 10 people who made the cut.
A boxer, a batsman, and a Bronco were among the most googled people in Australia this year. The top two spots belong to athletes of a different kind.
10. Lidia Thorpe
In a year bookmarked by a historic referendum that voted against changing our Consitution to include a Voice to Parliament, the tenth search trend was ‘No Vote’ politician Lidia Thorpe.
The independent senator representing Victoria was a prolific part of the campaign that determined the ‘No’ outcome. Google results show that the Australian public was very interested to hear what she had to say. Thorpe was elected to the Senate representing Victoria in 2022. Five years prior, she was the first Aboriginal woman elected to Victorian parliament.
9. Ellie Carpenter
Ninth on the list is an Aussie sporting legend. Ellie Carpenter plays for the Australian womens’ soccer team that achieved widespread global recognition this year. The Matildas cemented their position as hometown heroes in 2023, winning games and hearts at the Womens’ World Cup.
When Carpenter is not representing her homeland in the international soccer competition, the defender wears the number 12 jersey for French team Lyon.
8. Kathleen Folbigg
While numbers 9 and 10 are household names because of their careers, the number 8 Aussie in search trends is an individual accused of a horrific crime. Kathleen Folbigg was released from prison this year, after serving 20 years of her sentence. In 2003, the 56-year-old was found guilty of murdering three of her children, and the manslaughter of one more.
Two years ago, 90 scientists and doctors called for Folbigg’s release, citing the results of genetic sequencing tests of her children. The sequenced genomes revealed that four of Folbigg’s kids inherited genetic mutations that made them more susceptible to SIDS.
7. Tim Tszyu
From an inmate to a prizefighter. Number 7 on the list is boxer Tim Tszyu. The light-middleweight champion won the World Boxing Organisation title in September of this year.
Tsyzu was born in Sydney in 1994. His father, Kostya Tszyu was a professional Australian boxer who was born in the Soviet Union. Tszyu junior defeated American boxer Brian Mandoza on the Gold Coast in October.
6. Bianca Censori
This time last year Bianca Censori was an unknown employee at Kanye West’s Yeezy. By January, her picture was in tabloid magazines all over the world. Two weeks after that, rumours swirled that West’s new girlfriend was an Aussie — and that he was introducing her as his wife.
Censori’s LinkedIn profile states that she has been a full-time designer of architecture at Yeezy since November 2020. She completed a Masters at the University of Melbourne that same year.
5. Dan Andrews
The second politician in the Top 10 is also a controversial figure. Like Thorpe who came in at #10, Dan Andrews is a representative of Victoria. He is not in the Senate however. Andrews’ domain is state politics – he was Victorian Premier from 2014 – 2023.
The latter years of his reign were contentious. Andrews was heavily criticized for the severe lockdowns imposed on Melbournians during the pandemic. Nonetheless, he was elected to another term as premier in 2022. Andrews stepped down from the role 10 months later.
4. Reece Walsh
Number 4 on the list is a Brisbane Bronco. Reece Walsh was born in Southport Queensland in 2002. He competed with the New Zealand Warriors NRL team before returning to Australia to rejoin the Broncos. Walsh’s father is Indigenous Australian and his mother is Māori.
The 21-year-old is an immensely popular player in his homestate team, and expected to sign a record-breaking contract extension with the Broncos before the start of the next season. Walsh also topped off a stellar 2023 by being nominated for the GQ Breakthrough Sportsman of the Year.
3. Michael Clarke
”Pup” as he is known, hit it out of the park at #3 on the list. It hasn’t been all sixes for Michael Clarke in 2023 however. In January, the former captain of Australian cricket lost a coveted commentary spot in India after a verbal altercation with his girlfriend.
The 42-year-old played his first game of professional cricket in 2003, and retired from the sport in 2015. This week it was announced that Clarke would join ESPN as a pundit, and be back in the public eye in 2024.
2. Mary Fowler
The second hottest search trend this year, plays for the same national team as the first. Mary Fowler became a household name throughout the 2023 Women’s World Cup held here at home.
The star forward was just 15 when she first represented Australia in an international competition. Now 20, Fowler is a three-time Matildan. Born in Cairns, the versatile player is of Irish and Papua New Guinean descent.
When the Aussie Olympian is not wearing the green and gold, she plays for Manchester City in the English league. Fowler signed a lucrative four-year deal with the club earlier this year.
Often called a ‘prodigy’, and the ‘next Sam Kerr,’ Fowler won the 2022 Australian PFA Young Women’s Footballer of the Year. She is also nominated for 2023 Best FIFA Women’s Player. The winner of that award is yet to be announced.
1. Sam Kerr
The top spot goes to Matildas’ golden girl Sam Kerr. Not only did Kerr captain the Aussie team to victory numerous times on the pitch this year, she also led the Matildas into the hearts and minds of people around the world.
When not repping her homeland, Australia’s superstar striker plays for Chelsea in the Women’s Super League.
Kerr was born in Perth and has won global acclaim. Her leadership is wide-ranging. Earlier this year, the skipper announced she is launching an academy to train the next generation of soccer talent in Australia.
The Matildas website highlights the many domains Kerr has excelled in, on and off the field:
- All-time goal-scoring record for Australian international players.
- All-time goal-scoring record for the National Women’s Soccer League (USA.)
- The only female football player to have won the Golden Boot in three different leagues.
- The only female football player to have won the Golden Boot on three different continents.
- Four nominations for FIFA World Player of the Year.
- A Ballon d’Or nomination.
- The first female footballer to appear on the cover of FIFA.
- Writing inspirational books for children in her ‘downtime.’
All data provided by Google Australia. Trending Searches: What was hot in 2023? The “trending” queries are the searches that had the highest spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2023 as compared to 2022.
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