Danielle Woodward

{{Short description|Australian canoeist}}

{{Use Australian English|date=January 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Danielle Woodward

| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=AUS|size=100%|OAM|APM}}

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| office =

| term_start =

| term_end =

| birth_name = Danielle Anne Woodward

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|03|20|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Melbourne, Australia

| death_date = {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD|df=yes}}

| death_place =

| medaltemplates=

{{MedalSport|Women's canoe slalom}}

{{MedalCountry | {{AUS}} }}

{{MedalOlympic}}

{{MedalSilver|1992 Barcelona|K1}}

}}

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.

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|date=October 2024}}

Woodward was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on Australia Day 2002{{Cite web|url=http://old.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/aaagazattes/1994-2004/Order%20of%20Australia%20-%20Australia%20Day%202002%20(AD02)%20-%20Gazette%20S06.pdf|title=Australia Day 2002 Honours List|access-date=25 January 2020|archive-date=21 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921060511/http://old.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/aaagazattes/1994-2004/Order%20of%20Australia%20-%20Australia%20Day%202002%20%28AD02%29%20-%20Gazette%20S06.pdf|url-status=dead}} and the Australian Sports Medal on 22 June 2000.{{Cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/976514|title=Australian Sports Medal}}

In the 2020 Australia Day Honours List, Woodward was awarded the Australian Police Medal (APM).{{Cite web|url=https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-01/ad2020_gazette_-_order_of_australia.pdf|title=Australia Day 2020 Honours List}}

Woodward was appointed director of Australian Canoeing on 29 April 2007. On 15 November 2008, she was elected president of the governing body.{{cite web|title=Australian Canoeing Board of Directors|url=http://canoe.org.au/?Page=1506&MenuID=ac%5Finformation%2F93%2F0%2F%2CWho%5Fis%5FAustralian%5FCanoeing%3F%2F68%2F1513%2F|publisher=Australian Canoeing|accessdate=28 January 2013}}

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|date=October 2024}}

In 2016, she was awarded the AIS Ward of Excellence - Administrator Australian Institute of Sport Performance Awards.{{cite web|title=Chalmers claims two AIS awards to complete fairy tale year|url=http://www.ausport.gov.au/news/ais_news/story_654127_chalmers_claims_two_ais_awards|website=Australian Sports Commission website|accessdate=14 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220203617/http://www.ausport.gov.au/news/ais_news/story_654127_chalmers_claims_two_ais_awards|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=dead}} 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|date=October 2024}}

In November 2023, Woodward was charged with a drink driving offence and stood down from her AFP duties.[https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/afp-commander-and-olympian-danielle-woodward-charged-with-drink-driving-after-crashing-car-into-tree/ar-BB1kq6mt 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. 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.{{cite news |last1=Neale |first1=Hannah |title=Ill health led to drink-driving police commander's 'stupidity' |url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8592204/afp-commander-danielle-woodward-avoids-drink-driving-conviction/?cs=19041 |access-date=22 April 2024 |work=The Canberra Times |date=15 April 2024 |language=en-AU}}