Bok skipper Kolisi, Olympic champ Schoenmaker vie for top SA sports awards
Olympic 200m breaststroke champion Tatjana Schoenmaker, double Paralympics champion Ntando Mahlangu and Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi headline the list of nominees for this year’s SA Sport Awards (Sasa).
SA athletes and officials, who excelled on the international stage will be honoured in the ceremony on Saturday at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC).
This year s awards will cover 16 categories that include the Sport Star of the Year and People’s Choice Athlete of the Year awards.
Schoenmaker won gold and silver at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, Mahlangu claimed two gold medals during the Paralympics in Tokyo while Kolisi led the Springboks to a series win over the British & Irish Lions.
Due to a two-year break in the SA Sports Awards due to Covid-19, the period under review for this edition goes back to September 1 2019. So that means Kolisi leading the Springboks to victory in the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan (20 September to 2 November 2019) would come under consideration.
Schoenmaker, Mahlangu and Kolisi will be up against one aneach other in the main category of SA Sports Star of the Year, and will also be the favourites for the People’s Choice award voted for by the public.
“SA’s top sport and recreation practitioners and members of the media will be honoured again this year, after a two-year hiatus due to the national state of disaster that interrupted the sporting fraternity, which limited sporting events,” the Department of Sport said in a statement.
“These awards are particularly significant because they recognise the resilience demonstrated by the athletes. In addition, the awards highlight the Olympic year that acknowledges great achievements from our Olympic and Paralympic participants.
“The awards carry a total of 16 categories including the Sport Star of the Year award and the People’s Choice Athlete of the Year award.
“All categories recognise performances from individuals, teams and administrators of the SA sporting fraternity for the period under review (September 2019 to August 2021).”