SPORTING PROWESS
Manawatū’s Halberg awards finalists
Manawatu¯ names feature prominently in the nominees for the 2018 Halberg Sports Awards.
The Halberg Foundation released its list of 71 nominations over the award’s six categories on Friday.
Manawatu¯ produced four individual finalists, while the region also provided sportsmen and women in seven of the teams up for the team’s category.
Palmerston North motorsport ace Brendon Hartley is among the favourites for the sportsman of the year title.
Hartley claimed the World Endurance Championship title and 24 Hours of Le Mans title along with Earl Bamber, who is up in the team of the year category alongside Hartley, and German Timo Bernhard.
Hartley then cracked the biggest category of motorsport, the Formula One, becoming the first Kiwi in the competition since 1984.
He secured a fulltime drive with Toro Rosso in 2018.
Also in the sportsman of the year category is ice speed skater Peter Michael, who is originally from Palmerston North.
Michael made the transition from in-line speed skating to ice speed skating in 2017.
The seven-time in-line world champion proved the move was worthwhile when he claimed bronze in the individual 5000m at the World Speed Skating Championships.
He was also part of the threeman New Zealand team to win silver in the team pursuit.
Feilding’s Sarah Goss is up for the sportswoman of the year gong, following on from her nomination for the player of the year award at the New Zealand Rugby awards later this month.
The New Zealand Women’s Sevens captain played a key role in leading her team to the Sevens World Series title.
She missed the final world series events as she turned her attention on 15s rugby where she locked down the No 7 jersey for the Black Ferns for the women’s World Cup.
Palmerston North paraswimmer Chris Arbuthnott, who has qualified for the Commonwealth Games in the S9 100m backstroke, is up for the Emerging Talent award, which was won by Manawatu¯ cyclist Campbell Stewart last year.
There are 17 nominees up for team of the year.
That group includes the Hartley-bamber motorsport combination, the Black Ferns (Goss, Selica Winiata, Kristina Sue and Wesley Clarke), the New Zealand Women’s Sevens team (Goss, Crystal Mayes and Rebekah Tufuga), Team New Zealand (Simon van Velthooven), New Zealand International Taekwon-do Team (Nathan Bowden and Alex Petrovich), Women’s coxless pair (Kerri Gowler) and Women’s Team Pursuit (Michaela Drummond).