Olympic rowers have dominated the 2021 Halberg Awards.
Two-time Olympic gold medallist Hamish Bond and Eric Murray have taken out the top award.
The two were named New Zealand’s supreme decade champions after earlier in the night claiming team of the decade.
Due to Covid-19, the event focused on New Zealand’s best athletes from the past decade.
Bond and Murray were back-to-back Olympic champions from the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics and were eight-time world champions.
They join a select group of New Zealand sporting legends to be the country’s best of an entire decade.
The others on that list were long-jumper and thrower Dame Yvette Corlette (nee Williams, 1950s, middle-distance duo Sir Peter Snell (1960s) and Sir John Walker (1970s), cricketer Sir Richard Hadlee (1980s), swimmer Danyon Loader (1990s) and fellow rowers Carolyn Meyer and Georgina Earl (nee Evers-Swindell, 2000s).
Canoe racing star Lisa Carrington beat out shot putter Dame Valerie Adams for sportswoman, while former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw took out the sportsman award.
Six-time Halberg winner and 15-time Paralympic medallist swimmer Sophie Pascoe collected the para athlete of the decade prize.
The fan-voted sporting moment of the decade went to rowers Joseph Sullivan and Nathan Cohen for their thrilling come-from-behind gold in the men’s double sculls at the 2012 London Games.
Halberg Awards Decade Champion winners and finalists:
- Decade Champion: Men’s Pair, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray (rowing)
- Team of the Decade: Men’s Pair, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray (rowing)
- Para Athlete of the Decade: Sophie Pascoe (Para swimming)
- Sportswoman of the Decade: Lisa Carrington (canoe racing)
- Sportsman of the Decade: Richie McCaw (rugby)
- Coach of the Decade: Gordon Walker (canoe racing)
- Emerging Talent Athlete of the Decade: Lydia Ko (golf)
- New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment of the Decade: Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan (rowing)
- Sport New Zealand Leadership Award: Johanna Wood (football)
