61st Halberg Awards: Dame Lisa Carrington wins Supreme Award, Warriors take out NZ’s Favourite Sporting Moment

By Will Toogood

Writer·NZ Herald·

14 Feb, 2024 09:16 AM4 mins to read

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Dame Lisa Carrington won Sportswoman and Supreme Award at the Halbergs. Photo / Photosport

Renowned kayaker and world champion Dame Lisa Carrington has secured New Zealand’s highest sporting honour, emerging as the recipient of the prestigious Supreme Halberg Award at the 61st ISPS Handa Halberg Awards ceremony.

The announcement, made at Spark Arena in Auckland this evening, marked another moment in Carrington’s incredible career.

Carrington, who was named Sportswoman of the Year earlier in the evening, claimed her 15th Canoe Sprint World Championship title in Germany, with victory in the K1 200m on the final day of competition. The win provided her third title of the regatta, after the K4 500m and the K1 500m, just 24 hours earlier.

In a highly competitive field, Carrington took the honour ahead of fellow finalists including last year’s Supreme Halberg Award recipient Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, cyclist Ellesse Andrews, motocross rider Courtney Duncan and swimmer Erika Fairweather.

There were seven other awards presented during the live ceremony, celebrating and honouring New Zealand sporting excellence from 2023.

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Aaron Gate was announced as the Sportsman of the Year for his results at the UCI Track World Championships, including victory in the Men’s Points Race and two bronze medals in the Men’s Madison and Men’s Team Pursuit. Fellow finalists included All Black Ardie Savea, squash player Paul Coll, golfer Ryan Fox and race car driving legend Shane van Gisbergen.

The New Zealand Warriors won a hotly-contested New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment category after their remarkable season in reaching a preliminary final - over 10,000 votes from the public came in in total.

Double New Zealand representative Cameron Leslie was named Para Athlete of the Year for his performances at the World Para Swimming World Championships in England, where he claimed one gold medal, two silvers and a bronze. Leslie also co-captained the Wheel Blacks at the International Wheelchair Rugby World Cup in Paris, France in the same year. Lisa Adams, Danielle Aitchison, Anna Taylor and Nicole Murray were also finalists.

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The Black Fern Sevens team was named Team of the Year for their unprecedented success in the Sevens World Series, maintaining an undefeated streak of 36 matches. Other finalists included the All Blacks, All Blacks Sevens, Women’s K4 Kayak 500m and the New Zealand Warriors.

Gordon Walker claimed the Coach of the Year Award for the fifth time for guiding the New Zealand women’s sprint kayak contingent to three world titles and was named ahead of Ian Foster, Sean Thompson, Corey Sweeney and Lars Humer.

Speed climber Julian David was awarded the Emerging Talent accolade. David won the junior male speed climbing gold medal at the World Championships in South Korea to edge out the other finalists in this category, kayaker Tara Vaughan, snowboarder Lucia Georgalli, footballer Milly Clegg and downhill mountain biker Erice Van Leuven.

Sir Wayne Smith was awarded Sport New Zealand’s Leadership Award.

More than just a celebration, the awards serve as the main fundraiser for Halberg - to support the work of its founder, Sir Murray Halberg, and his legacy of ensuring all young people with physical disabilities can find moments of joy in sport and recreation activities.