Valerie completes hat-trick of Halbergs, while rowing twins carry off decade crown Women athletes were the big stars in the 2009 Westpac Halberg Awards with Valerie Vili capturing New Zealand’s ultimate sporting prize – the Halberg Award – for the third consecutive year. Then just for good measure Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell were crowned Sports Champions of the Decade. The 25-year-old World, Olympic, Commonwealth and NZ shot-put champion emerged the big winner at the 2009 Westpac Halberg Awards dinner at Sky City Convention Centre. After repeating her performance of the previous three years by winning the Westpac Sportswoman of the Year category, joining board sailor Barbara Kendall as a four-time winner, Vili went on to claim the supreme award.
World Cycling Championships. The other finalists were Aaron Cruden (rugby), Sam Meech (sailing) and Robbie Manson (rowing). Dick Tonks, who coached Drysdale and the men’s pair to World Championship titles, won the SPARC Coach of the Year category. The other finalists in this distinguished group were Ricki Herbert (football), Kirsten Hellier (athletics) and Tim Carswell (cycling).
voted male ‘Rower of the Year’ by world rowing’s governing body and Vili one of five finalists for the IAAF ‘Female Athlete of the Year award.’ The other finalists in the sportswoman category were, like Vili, all current world champions – Sophie Pascoe
At the dinner two former New Zealand champions were inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. Athletes Allison Roe, winner of the New York and Boston marathons and Barry Magee, winner of the Olympic marathon bronze in 1960
(swimming), Alison Shanks (track cycling) and Sarah Walker (BMX cycling).
were presented with their awards by national sporting icons Dame Susan Devoy and Sir John Walker.
In so doing she became the second person behind champion oarsman Rob Waddell to complete a hat-trick of Halberg Awards (2007, 08 & 09), and the first female to capture the big trophy – first won by cricketer Bert Sutcliffe back in 1949 – three times. Other category winners she headed off for the 2009 Halberg Award were four-time world single scull rowing champion Mahe Drysdale and the world champion rowing pair of Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, unbeaten in their first year as a pair at elite level, winners of the Westpac Sportsman and Sports Team categories respectively. Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell completed a golden night for rowing when they were announced as the Sports Champions of the Decade – heading off the respective Halberg Award winners from 2000-09, including Vili, the three-time Halberg Award winner. In the end, back-toback double scull Olympic gold medals by the Swindells gave them the edge over the other contenders.
In the Westpac Sportsman of the Year category Drysdale headed off Scott Dixon (motor sport), Duncan Grant (rowing), Richie McCaw (rugby) and Daniel Vettori (cricket) while the Sports Team category was another triumph for rowing with the men’s pair of Eric Murray and Hamish Bond beating the All Whites, lightweight double scull team Storm Uru and Peter Taylor (rowing) and the 420 crew of Alexandra Maloney and Bianca Barbarich-Bacher (sailing).
Drysdale and Vili both went unbeaten in all international competition during 2009, retained their world championship crowns and were also acclaimed by their international federations with Drysdale
The Westpac Emerging Talent category, which comes with a $15,000 scholarship from Westpac New Zealand, was awarded to Sam Webster, winner of an unprecedented hat-trick of titles last year at the under-19
The recipients of two other special awards, which have become regular features at the dinner, were very warmly received. Kenny Smith, who has spent more than 50 years in motor-sport winning premier single seater races throughout SE Asia, was presented with the Lion Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, a Halberg Trust initiative. While long time cricket administrator Sir John Anderson, chairman of New Zealand cricket for 13 years, was presented with the SPARC Leadership Award by SPARC CEO Peter Miskimmin.
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