Hartley snares supreme award
Brendon Hartley was the new name among a bunch of familiar winners at the Manawatu¯ Sports Awards.
The 28-year-old Formula One driver won both the sportsman of the year and then the supreme sportsperson title on Friday night.
Surprisingly, it was the first time Hartley had picked up an award at the event.
Six people defended their titles from last year – Sarah Goss (sportswoman), Wesley Clarke (coach), Campbell Stewart (junior sportsman) and Michaela Drummond (junior sportsman), Jack Lewer (disabled sportsman – intellectual) and Chris Arbuthnott (disabled sportsman – physical).
In Stewart and Drummond’s cases, it was their third consecutive titles.
But it was ultimately a night that belonged to Hartley, as his bumper 2017 was acknowledged.
Hartley’s 2017 included winning the World Endurance Championship, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans and breaking New Zealand’s 33-year F1 driver drought.
The Palmerston North man is in Spain for the first week of F1 testing with his Toro Rosso team, but he sent an acceptance speech by video.
Hartley beat All Black Ngani Laumape, motocross star Levi Sherwood and Team New Zealand cyclor Simon van Velthooven.
By claiming the supreme award, he denied Goss the chance to be just the third person to win the major prize in back-to-back years, behind skater Kalon Dobbin (2005 and 2006) and All Black Christian Cullen (1995 and 1996).
But Goss was crowned sportswoman of the year after captaining the the New Zealand Sevens team to the 2017 World
It was the first time Hartley had picked up an award at the event.
Series title and being part of the World Cup-winning Black Ferns team. Goss beat Black Ferns teammate Selica Winiata, track and field star Ariana Blackwood and cricketer Hannah Rowe.
Black Ferns assistant coach Clarke picked up coach of the year after also coaching the Feilding High School first XV to second place in both the Central North Island competition and the National Co-ed Top Four.
The national champion 4x400-metre relay team of Quinn Hartley, Zac Topping, Sam Merson and Brayden Grant took out team of the year.
Triathlete Shane Reed was named masters sportsperson of the year, while Hockey Manawatu¯ ’s Kevin Nicholson won the administrator of the year award and hockey umpire David Tomlinson won official of the year.
The disabled categories were split into four awards this year rather than usual two, with sportsman and sportswoman awards handed to both the physical intellectual categories.
Lewer and Rachel Oemcke won the intellectual awards, while Arbuthnott and Sharon Dagg won the physical awards.
The biggest surprise of the night came in the junior sportswoman category. Although cyclist Drummond had another stellar year on the track, which was deserving of a third consecutive title, swimmer Mya Rasmussen must have come close to claiming the title.
She won gold in the 400m individual medley, silver in the 200m individual medley and 200m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas. The 17-year-old holds 26 Manawatu age-group records, 12 Manawatu¯ open records and four New Zealand age-group records.