KEY POINTS:
Olympians figure strongly among the finalists announced today for the 2008 Halberg sports awards.
The sportsman, sportswoman and coach of the year categories each feature three Olympians, while two teams from Beijing are also among the sports team finalists.
Rowing and athletics, which provided the bulk of the finalists last year, are again well represented.
Athletics has finalists in three categories - shot put gold medal winner Valerie Vili (sportswoman), 1500m bronze medallist Nick Willis (sportsman) and Vili's mentor Kirsten Hellier (coach), while rowing has double scull gold medallists Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell in the team category and their long-time coach, Richard Tonks, up for the coaching award.
Vili won the Halberg supreme award last year.
The effort by the Kiwis in upsetting the world champion Kangaroos in the rugby league World Cup final at Brisbane in November have seen them nominated for the team award, while coach Stephen Kearney is also a finalist in the coaching section.
The All Blacks, who completed a Grand Slam tour of Britain late in the year, are also included in the team finalists.
The calibre of this year's finalists can perhaps be measured by who missed out - Olympic bronze medallist single sculler Mahe Drysdale, triathlete Bevan Docherty and league player Manu Vatuvei, voted the world's best winger this year, failed to make the cut.
There are five finalists in the sportsman category and four each for sportswoman and team, all of whom are eligible for the Halberg supreme award.
Willis, Indy 500 winning driver Scott Dixon, world amateur golf champion Danny Lee, Tom Ashley, who won boardsailing gold at the Olympics, and cyclist silver medallist Hayden Roulston are the sportsmen finalists.
Vili is joined in the sportswoman category by Paralympics swimming triple gold medallist Sophie Pascoe, winner of three Paralympic swimming gold medals, triathlete Samantha Warriner, who finished the year ranked No 1 woman in the world, and world championship bowls dual gold medallist Val Smith.
The Evers-Swindell twins, the All Blacks and the Kiwis have cycling's men's pursuit quartet, who won bronze at Beijing, as rivals in the team category.
Coaching finalists are Tonks, Hellier, Kearney and Tom Ashley's mentor, Grant Beck.
Four finalists have also been named in the emerging talent category, with the winner receiving a $25,000 scholarship from main awards sponsor, Westpac.
Finalists are Paige Hareb (surfing), Graham Oberlin-Brown (rowing), Jossi Wells (skiing) and Christopher Rahardja (karate).
Voting for the awards, organised each year by The Halberg Trust, is carried out by an academy of 30 media representatives, coaches and athletes who have excelled at the highest level.
Award winners will be announced a dinner at Auckland on February 3.
- NZPA
