50th Westpac Halberg Awards Winners
2012 Halberg Award Winner
Eric Murray & Hamish Bond
Eric Murray (30) and Hamish Bond's (26) Men’s Pairs Rowing partnership has become the stuff of legend after the men went undefeated in competition last year. In fact, they were so dominant on the water that the duo won Gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games five seconds ahead of their French rivals in second. In the build-up to the stunning final they also managed to smash the world record.
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High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportsman of the Year Winner
Mahe Drysdale
Just getting to the London Olympics was medal-worthy for Mahé Drysdale after a series of career and life-threatening setbacks. Fighting an ongoing back injury (osteo-arthritis) and recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in a bike crash a month before the Olympics, Drysdale still managed to pull ahead of the 32 other athletes in the Men’s Single Sculls and win the Gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year Winner
Valerie Adams
In what was one of the most dramatic sports stories of 2012, Valerie Adams lost to, then was elevated over, Nadiya Ostapchuk after the Belarusian shot putter tested positive for performance enhancing drugs at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Returning home to Auckland with her second Olympic gold medal in the shot put, Adams received a hero’s welcome.
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Halberg Disability Sport Foundation Disabled Sportsperson of the Year Winner
Sophie Pascoe
It was a year in which the London 2012 Paralympic Games seized the imagination of the public, and Paralympic swimmer Sophie Pascoe became the face of the Games for many New Zealanders. The talented Cantabrian dominated the swimming pool during her Paralympic campaign, winning six medals in total (three gold and three silver) and breaking almost as many world records in the process.
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Westpac Team of the Year Winner
NZ Men's Pair - Eric Murray & Hamish Bond
Hamish Bond (26) and Eric Murray’s (30) Men’s Pairs Rowing partnership has become the stuff of legend after the men went undefeated in competition last year. In fact, they were so dominant on the water that the duo won Gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games five seconds ahead of their French rivals in second. In the build-up to the stunning final they also managed to smash the world record.
Watch live footage on SKY Sport Website
Westpac Emerging Talent Winner
Lydia Ko
From teenage obscurity to an international sensation, Lydia Ko’s breakthrough year was remarkable. At just 15 years of age, the sublimely talented golfer has already made her mark on the world of amateur golf, beating 19 of the world's top 20 ranked professionals to win the CN Canadian Women's Open on the LPGA Tour (August) and earn the position of World No. 1 Amateur throughout 2012.
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Coach of the Year Winner
Richard Tonks
With such a successful year for New Zealand rowing, it seems appropriate to also honour a rowing coach of Richard Tonks’ calibre. Tonks coached both Single Scull (Mahe Drysdale) and Men’s Pair (Eric Murray & Hamish Bond) to gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and also oversaw the coaching programme for the Heavyweight Double Scull (gold medallists), the Men’s Lightweight Double Scull (bronze medallists) and Women’s Coxless Pair (bronze medallists).
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New Zealand's Favourite Sporting Moment Winner
Nathan Cohen & Joseph Sullivan
Capping off Rowing’s successful run were Olympic Double Sculls champions Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan, who claimed the title of ‘New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment’. In the only Westpac Halberg Award category determined solely by public vote, Cohen and Sullivan won with their performance of a lifetime at the London 2012 Olympics, when a well-timed sprint from behind saw them storm over the finish line in first place.
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Lion Foundation Lifetime Achievement Winner
Arthur Eustace
Throughout the last 70 years, Patron and Life Member of Athletics New Zealand, Arthur Eustace, has influenced every sphere of athletics in New Zealand, Oceania and internationally. As an athlete, he won his first New Zealand championship title in 1945 when he was a nineteen year old, and went on to win seven more New Zealand titles in sprints and hurdles.
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Sport New Zealand Leadership Winner
Sir John Wells
Sir John Wells received the 2012 Sport New Zealand Leadership Award for his services to sport. Sir John has been a leader in the sports sector for decades and has led some of the country's most important sporting achievements, including the 2012 Triathlon World Championship Grand Final in Auckland, the Auckland stopover of the 2012 Volvo Ocean Race, and the 2007 Netball World Championships in Christchurch.
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New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame Winner
Jeff Wilson & Bruce Kendall
Yachting Champion Bruce Kendall and former New Zealand Rugby and Cricket representative, Jeff Wilson, were inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. They were presented with their awards by national sporting icon Sir John Walker and Sports Hall of Fame Governor Bryan Williams.
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