Race is on for our top awards after a glorious year of NI sport

THE Belfast Telegraph Sports Awards are back and this year they’re going to be bigger than ever after another huge 12 months of sport in Northern Ireland.

This year’s event will once again be held at the Waterfront Hall on Monday, January 29 with BT Sport’s Craig Doyle returning to host for a second year in a row alongside fellow TV presenter Claire McCollum.

Last year saw a hugely successful awards night in Belfast as more than 500 people were in attendance to celebrate a brilliant 2016 in sport.

The likes of two-weight World champion boxer Carl Frampton, Ulster and Ireland rugby captain Rory Best, Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill and goalkeeper Michael McGovern, and Paralympic swimmer Bethany Firth all took home awards for their achievements in their respective sports.

And after an equally exciting 2017, with so many brilliant achievements racked up by sporting stars across the coun- try, competition will be fierce for the 14 awards on offer as we recognise the amazing accomplishments of our local stars.

As always, the big names will be out in force, with all eyes on who will pick up the top awards on offer.

The likes of Jonathan Rea, who won an unprecedented third successive World Superbike Championship, and World champion boxer Ryan Burnett

(right) will be in contention for Sports Star of the Year.

Paralympic athletes Jason Smyth and Michael McKillop will also be in the running for the prestigious award after both won gold at the World Championships in London over the summer, and both will also stand a chance of taking the Sports Person with a Disability prize.

Despite not making it to next year’s World Cup, the Northern Ireland football team will again be up for Team of the Year after once again defying the odds to make it to a play-off.

O’Neill will stand a good chance of defending the Manager/Coach of the Year award he won last year, but he’ll find some strong opposition from Irish League bosses David

Healy (Linfield) and Oran Kearney (Coleraine).

In Gaelic games, Slaughtneil once again have proven the standard bearers in football, hurling and camogie among Ulster clubs as they bid for an historic ‘double treble’.

Cyclist Mark Downey has also had an excellent year, winning gold at the Track World

Cup, while Daryl Gurney has burst onto the darts scene with some exceptional performances which have seen him rise to fourth in the world.

It’s been a great year for women’s sport as well, with the latter stages of the Women’s Rugby World Cup at Kingspan Stadium and the Queen’s University playing fields right