Murray up for major sports award
Kiwi Para cyclist earns nomination
New Zealand Paralympian #222 and Ngāhinapōuri School alumna Nicole Murray has been shortlisted for a prestigious Laureus World Sports Award for her remarkable achievements in 2023, just days after being selected for the 2024 UCI Paracycling Track World Championships in March.
The Laureus World Sports Awards are the premier global sporting awards.
First held in 2000, the annual event honours the greatest and most inspirational sporting achievements from the year.
The 31-year-old Waitomo Para cyclist was stunned by the nomination, describing it as “such an honour”:
“I can’t really comprehend it. It’s so, so cool,” she said.
Murray is shortlisted for the World Sportsperson with a Disability award at the the 2024 Laureus World Sport Awards. She is the only Kiwi shortlisted in any category.
She is nominated alongside:
Italian Para swimmer Simone Barlaam
Dutch wheelchair tennis player Diede de Groot
Ukrainian Para swimmer Danylo Chufarov
German long-jumper Markus Rehm
Hungarian sprinter and longjumper Luca Ekler
Murray is one of the world’s topranked Para cyclists. A left-hand amputee from a childhood accident, she competes in the C5 sports class.
Once a track specialist, Murray has now won a number of road cycling titles as well, making her an extremely versatile athlete.
This is the second year in a row where New Zealand has been represented on the shortlist by its phenomenal Paralympic talent, with Paralympian #164 Cameron Leslie the only shortlisted New Zealander in the 2023 Laureus Awards.
Past Laureus winners include Dan Carter and (separately) the All Blacks in 2016, Sir Peter Blake in 2002, and Levi Sherwood in 2011.
This year’s awards will be presented in Madrid, Spain on April 22.
Paralympics New Zealand CEO Greg Warnecke emphasises that Murray’s recognition is just one of the many reasons for New Zealanders to be excited about supporting Paralympians and Para athletes on their journey to Paris 2024.
“Nicole is an incredibly talented
athlete and truly deserves this global recognition. Inspirational performances like Nicole’s can change lives. I am thrilled about the impact that this Laureus nomination will bring, and the people who will experience the power of Para sport as a result,” Warnecke said.
“Nicole’s achievements reflect the exceptional talent in Para sport in New Zealand. The upcoming Paris 2024 Paralympic Games promise to be a captivating journey for everyone: athletes, spectators, fans, commercial partners, and New Zealand overall.”
Nicole Murray’s sporting achievements in 2023
Murray, who is coached by Damian Wiseman, had an incredible 2023 season, building with consistency on a phenomenal breakout year in 2022.
2023 culminated in Nicole being recognised as the world’s best Female Summer Athlete of the Year at the 2023 Para Sport Awards.
The Waikato-based Paralympian began the year with a spectacular Para-Cycling Road World Cup series, earning two gold and two silver medals.
This best-in-series result allowed her to claim the series jersey for the most accumulated points in the competitive women’s C5 classification.
She went on to claim a world title and rainbow jersey on the track in the 2023 Cycling World Championships, along with a silver and a bronze medal after battling against strong competition in the C5 Women’s classification. Murray also set a new personal best time in the 3km Individual Pursuit of three minutes and 40.946 seconds.
With four Road World Cup medals and three Track World Championships medals, earned with stand-out performances across the full breadth of event types in 2023, she demonstrates remarkable diversity in her skills.
Murray is now ranked third in Road and second in Track for C5 women. She is the most consistent and most successful Para cycling C5 female athlete for 2023.
Murray’s success echoes the trajectory of high-performance Para cycling in Aotearoa New Zealand over recent years, with the programme going from strength to strength.
2022 and 2023 were sequential “best-ever” years in terms of world championship medals won, promising an exciting Paris 2024 Paralympic Games ahead for our nation.