Olympic canoeist Lisa Carrington has claimed New Zealand's top sporting honour - the Supreme Halberg Award for 2016.
Lisa Carrington cradles her Supreme Halberg Award. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Carrington won the title after claiming the Sportswoman of the Year Award for the first time.
After missing out on the title for the last five consecutive years, the 27-year-old finally has her hands on the silverware at the Halbergs.
Carrington beat her closest rivals for the Sportswoman of the Year title - Dame Valerie Adams, and Lydia Ko, after winning a gold and bronze in the women's canoe sprints at the Rio Olympics.
In doing so she became the first New Zealand female athlete to win two medals at an Olympics.
Carrington then added the Supreme Award to the Sportswoman title, rounding off what was her most successful year in professional sport.
She said it was a relief to finally win just one Halberg.
"I mean looking at the trophy and seeing the names on the trophy is amazing.
"It's great to be a part of that history and it just makes the prestige of the trophy way more special," Carrington said.
Winner of the Sportsman of the Year was rower Mahe Drysdale who won gold in the men's single sculls at Rio by just centimeters.
Drysdale beat boxing champion Joseph Parker, Olympic middle distance bronze medallist Nick Willis and shot put bronze medallist at Rio - Tom Walsh.
Mahe Drysdale and his daughter Bronte after his Olympic win. Photo: AFP
It's Drysdale's fifth Sportsman of the Year Award, he said he'll cherish this one as much as his first.
"If you look at what you had to do to then to win the Supreme Award back it was win a world title, even second place could win you the Supreme award.
"Now there's a lot of world champions that don't even get up on the stage to win their category and I think that can be attributed a lot to the funding high performance sport and it just makes it more of an honour to win," Drysdale said.
The Team of Year Award went to 49er sailing pair Blair Tuke and Peter Burling who won gold at the Rio Olympics, adding to their silver at the London Games in 2012.
Team of the Year was the tightest of the categories last night, Tuke and Burling beat Olympic gold medal rowers, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray for the title.
New Zealand sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke celebrate winning gold at the Rio Olympics. Photo: AFP
Bond and Murray have been unbeaten in 69 races and have won the Supreme Halberg Award twice.
Tuke and Burling were also unbeaten for the past four years, proving just how tough the contest was.
Burling said the win did come as a surprise.
"We were listening to their (Bond and Murray) accolades get read out and it sounded pretty impressive what they've managed to achieve but we haven't been beaten in the 49er for the last four year period.
"For us we couldn't have done anything more in 2016 and the thing we're incredibly proud of is that we performed our best ever yacht race in Rio and that's something we'll always look back on and always have," Burling said.
New Zealand blade runner Liam Malone won the Disabled Sportsperson in his first year in the category.
Para-athlete Liam Malone. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Malone won two gold and one silver at the Rio Paralympics in 2016.
The colourful 23-year-old said this is just the beginning for him.
"Obviously the next most important thing for me to do that I'm prioritising is becoming the fastest person on the planet.
"That's to run the 400 metres in under 43 seconds and that's really really possible. Last year I dropped four seconds, it's only another three seconds to do that."
-RNZ
