The finalists for the 54th Halberg awards have been announced and unsurprisingly, it's a list dominated by New Zealand's most successful athletes from 2016's Rio Olympics.
The contestants in the women's division are double-Olympic gold-medallist Lisa Carrington, alongside silver-medallists Luuka Jones and Valerie Adams and last year's winner, golfing superstar Lydia Ko.
In the men's division are Olympic champion rower Mahe Drysdale, WBO heavyweight boxing champion Joseph Parker, and Rio bronze medallists Tom Walsh and Nick Willis.
Up for team of the year are two Olympic sailing crews; Blair Tuke and Peter Burling in the men's 49ers and Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie in the 470, as well as legendary rowing pair Hamish Bond and Eric Murray and silver-medallist cycling sprinters Eddie Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell and Sam Webster.
Coach of the year will be a duel between All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, 49er sailing coach Hamish Wilcox, Lisa Carrington's coach Gordon Walker, and Jeremy McColl, who guided Eliza McCartney to pole-vaulting bronze at her first Olympic games.
Among the notable omissions are V8 supercar champion Shane van Gisbergen, World Rugby player of the year Beauden Barrett, bowls world champion Shannon McIlroy, and the world record-breaking All Blacks.
The winners will be announced at the awards dinner to take place in Auckland on the 9th of February.
Newshub.
